Chapter 28 – Worries both in and out

“You are your own Lord now my daughter.”

Mia stared at the city that she owns. Her hair flying back as it waves. Her pale hair gleamed in the sunlight rays. Her palms leaned on the rails of the balcony. She looked at the blue horizon filled with clouds of worry. Her biggest challenge was getting nearer by the day.

“Mia, are you okay” a voice called out. She looked at the owner of this voice and said. “Yes I am, Uncle Shig. Thank you for working hard.”

Shig waves his hands. “It’s nothing. As for you, you should rest. We can’t have our Warlord tired.”

“I will. I’ll just watch the sky for now,” said Mia. “Uncle Shig...do you think we will win?”

Shig looked at her. “What’s this? Don’t tell me you are losing your confidence now?”

“No, not at all!” she answered quickly as she could. “It’s just that you don’t heart invasions coming from the sky. Or giant ships that carry an army of armed men ready to drop down our heads, carrying bombs. My father taught me how to defend against rifle fire. How to wield a sword and defend a city, but never did he taught me to deal with such kind of siege.”

“It is a new tactic,” Shig crossed his arms. “But we have to make do, Mia. We have things to protect here and this city belongs to you and you must protect it. Fear does not help us in this predicament.”

“I know,” she said sheepishly. “But what can I do?”

The wind blew her hair. She looked at the soldiers that have started digging trenches outside the walls.

“Be brave,” said Shig. “That’s all we can do right now. Mia, even though I say all of these things, I am scared. I am scared of losing all the ones that I grew to care.”

She smiled at him. “They are a good people, Leiko, Kioko and even that Joshua.”

“They are. They have it rough. Do you know what Joshua gave me today?”

“What?”

Shig pulled a Molotov from his pocket.

“Is that a bottle?”

“Joshua calls it the poor man’s grenade. I thought it was was drinking but throwing this at someone is rather deadly. It has wax shavings inside it. And along with the petrol and oil, it sticks to the skin. We can use this kind of solution to throw at the enemies.”

“Amazing, simple effective,” she looked at the Molotov. “Does he have more than that?”

“Yes, apparently he also designed this weapon. He laments that it’s already too late. But look at this, Mia.”

Shig took out a paper drawing. Mia recognized the paper and the way it was drawn. Clearly drawn by Sir Benton but there were odd lines and rows, mechanisms that a normal flint-lock rifle shouldn’t have.

“This is...if this is true then this rifle can fire sixteen shots...Stacked charge?” she eyed the paper. “This was made by him?”

“He drew it, I assumed that he was the one that designed it,” said Shig looked at the rifle with creased brows. “And I am hoping that it won’t fall to the enemies’ hands.”

“It is a dangerous weapon,” she lamented. “Can he still draw this kind of outline? Or did Sir Benton produce this already?”

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“The rifle he had right now has been modified. It can fire sixteen rounds now. The reloading time takes too long but it is deadly.”

“Tell him to burn any things related to this. Have Sir Benton stop and if possible destroy all his copies as well. Make sure that this does not exist. Until we win, this design shall not be used.”

“About Benton,” said Shig lowly. “I think Joshua suspects him as a traitor.”

Mia tensed up. She looked at Shig calmly, trying to hide her surprise.

“Does he have proof?”

“I think he does,” said Shig. “He has been staying in his room tinkering with things. I can tell that the items are from the alchemy lab and the workshop. He must have found something.”

Mia pressed her forehead. “Do I have to really jail Benton now?”

“No, you don’t,” said Shig crossing his arms. “Joshua told me that he made something that would burn the safe box that Benton has. Joshua has also told me that there are still other things missing from that paper that he only knows. Even if Benton sent some message to whomever he was colluding with. Their designs would be wrong. At best their fingers would be blown apart. But we can't be content with that. Humans are clever and they can figure things out.”

Mia touched her chin. She looked at Shig. “How did he find out about this anyway?”

Shig laughed. “Mia, remember when those assassins attacked?”

“Yes, I remember. What are the relations to this and to that?”

“When Joshua was trying to get himself a walking stick he caught a glimpse of Benton packing his drawings on a tube. And then one time from a window he saw Benton putting the tube on a falcon's legs. Joshua was rather curious about it and went there to see what’s up.”

Mia listened. Her face cold as ice.

“He said to me that he opened the lock. He scoured his table and saw that he was sending his drawings to someone. He also found runes on his safe box along with poison. The runes are words of power for fire and water. The poisons are from a dire scorpion stinger located on the fringes of the blackened forest of Cagan,” said Shig with a cold tone. “If you don’t have the proper rune reader and the antidote, you probably won’t be able to read the letters.”

“Do you have the letters?” asked Mia with a low voice.

“Yes, it is secured. But I suggest not bringing it up until this is over.”

“What if he escapes with the safe box of his?” Mia said angrily.

“Joshua rigged something on the box. Like I said he made something that could at least melt the box inside and turn the letters to ashes. And if he tries to take the box, I believe that Benton won’t go down unscathed and at worst he would have both of his arms blown apart.”

“What did that Joshua do?” she looked at Shig in question.

“I don’t know. But it seems to be something dangerous.”

Shig heaved a sigh and did not say anymore. Mia looked at Shig before looking at the city. She clenched her fist, feeling head in pain from what she just heard.