Chapter 20
“Copper for your thoughts?” Mya asked, walking up on Valter looking at the Seared Lady .
“Figuring out how it works,” Valter turned his head towards her “ The sails catch the hot air from below and that then keeps it aloft, the bottom and top sails move it forward. The pipes, I’m guessing they manage heat? Like the heat vats in the city?”
“Sometimes they go through patches that aren’t as warm as they would like it, or places that are too warm. The pipes circulate a special liquid through them that are great at transferring heat. That heat goes into or is pulled from big vats inside the ship that are made up of molten stone.” Mya pointed at the nearest masts.
“The pipes run up through the rigging, they can increase the heat under a sail, giving it lift. If they need to cool the system, or go faster.” She pointed at tubes along the sides of the ship away from masts. “They pass air through the system, it superheats and is shot out of special shaped nozzles that will shove the ship in different directions, can speed it up, slow it down, turn it and so on.” Her finger pointed at the lines of ballistas and tube-like weapons. “Even the guns run on it. They bottle up all that air, heat it, gets all excited, then release it, hurling angry metal at their enemies. The ballista’s have a crank system that pulls back the string and the crew just has to reload the bolt.”
Mya studied the ship with him in silence. “Its an impressive feat.”
“Flying on ships powered by heat,” Valter’s tone agreed with her.
Mya looked back at the others walking up the dock and waved them forward. “Time to introduce you to Sarnai, and have a look at this Ilus.”
Valter looked back at the city. The barracks had been cleaned out, the Emberclaw’s clan grounds were so much rubble.
The work had started on the towers and barrier building. The molten sand, now hardened into rock cracked and cleared away to get to the heat vats to check the damage and begin repairs.
People from the city were adjusting quickly. If they lived in Dragon Falls they’d be drafted into the Molten Fist. Here they could at least stay with their families, get food and earn some coin. They just had to avoid members of the ruling clan.
Ship’s justice was quick and direct, posters were thrown up giving lists of people to be tried. People were asked to give witness and tell of their grievances. Many were headed for hard labor, fixing up their own city.
Many of the ruling family members were put to death. It was hard to have even one person speak up in their defence. They were so used to standing on the necks of others.
“Sarnai must have been plotting this for a long time. Work is well underway and its been just a day,” Valter said.
“Clear out the elements that would fight back, use those that committed crimes, show the people that they can get better conditions, bring them on to her side. Gives her a loyal base and also people that might fill up the spaces in her new ships.” Mya shrugged. “Emberclaw did half of the work already being right assholes.”
Valter grunted, he’d seen a grandmother lambasting a young man that had killed her son on a drunken night because he had crossed the street infront of him and not given him his ‘proper respect’. Market squares had been turned into courtrooms.
Just by giving the people justice the Infernal Marauders were bringing the people over to their side.
Guards moved to the side as Mya led the way to the large ship, people moved with focused energy, preparing them for launch.
A retractable gangway connected the ship to the dock.
The guards studied Valter closer. He was wearing his armor without the helmet, the others wore their gear as well, following.
“So, you’re the famed ‘Four Horsemen’.” A woman said from the upper deck, next to the helm.
“High Captain Sarnai Hellfire, meet Petor, Valter, Desari and high magnus Ikor,” Mya waved to them and moved for the stairs.
“Good to meet your acquaintance.” She pinched her hat in greeting. Her blue eyes, flecked with red aglow with an ethereal almost mana light. Her smile drawn up in a quirk of amusement.
“And yours as well,” Valter said. Great Mya’s been making friends. One crazy captain was enough to deal with.
He followed Mya up the stairs.
“Ready on supplies Captain!” A man called from the gangway.
“Good, how is the rest of the fleet looking?” Sarnai turned to a nearby woman, Valter reached the top deck and moved to the side to be out the way, Petor and the others joined him.
“That’s Olva,” Mya pointed to the second woman.
“All ships are ready.”
“Well! The flow waits for no one! Make ready for launch! Gangway and lines away!” Sarnai’s voice carried over the ship as people rushed to carry out their tasks.
In a few minutes the last line released them from their cradle. Hot air blew from pipes under their sails, increasing their lift and pushing them out and free. Nearly twenty ships rose out of the port and headed out to the molten sea, spreading their sails out wide.
The ships organized around the Seared Lady . Sarnai nodded once tapping on her bannister before she moved over to Mya.
“Had a young lady by the name of Jaxus approach some of my people the other day,” Sarnai said.
“How’s he doing?” Mya asked.
Sarnai snorted, Mya passing through her little test.
“Well it seems. Looks like he was assessing trade routes in the area, dangers and the like. Interest in different goods. Dropped your name. They said he laughed and started three trade routes on the spot. Also said to pass on that if Desari needed anything,” She looked at the woman. “That he’d do it at a discount.”
“Might be worthwhile,” Desari said.
“And we have all that credit to work through,” Mya tapped her chin.
Sarnai grimaced slightly. “A deal’s a deal.”
“You got and sell her a fire?” Petor asked, leaning against the bannister.
“The hells would I need a fire out here for?” Sarnai frowned.
“Well she could sell a soul to the reaper, or ice to someone who lives on the top of a mountain,” Petor grinned.
“Aww, you do know how to give a lady a compliment.” Mya held her hands in front of herself and rocked side to side, batting her eyelids like she’d been struck love-sick.
Petor snorted and looked in the direction they were going.
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“So, I got the ride, how we going to get to Ilus?” Sarnai asked.
“Ikor,” Desari looked at the older man.
“I’ve talked with the council and we can take in one boat. All the ships will remain out of the harbour.”
“Sarnai, mind if we borrow one of your boats?”
“You know how to pilot it?”
“Nope, all heat and stuff, don’t worry Valter’s good with that,” Mya said.
“Wai-“ Valter tried to get out.
“Then Desari can push us with air,” Mya waved their arguments away.
Sarnai’s eyes shone in amusement.
“You crash it, its coming out of your credit!” Sarnai said.
“Everyone’s a miser these days.” Mya shook her head sadly.
“Economy is rough, inflation, bull and bear markets, you’ve got to short when you’re ahead,” Sarnai said seriously.
“Shit, trader talk, where’s that ship?” Petor headed for the stairs.
***
Desari’s stomach was twisted into knots, and none of it from the bobbing up and down motion that came with Valter trying to manage the heat keeping the boat aloft.
She could write off at least half of the nausea she felt on the ship’s movements. Though it would be a lie.
The walls of the harbor, once equal on each side was longer on the left than the right, a new tower erected on the shorter wall. A new wall rose up behind the docks, providing cover to the city beyond.
The construction was crude, built for purpose, without the embellishments and ornate rune work of the old city.
Lava flowed out of the city and down into the molten sea below, the towers were different, the city-scape different from what she knew.
The mana flow spoke of weapons ready along the towers and wall, many pointed at their ship as they crossed through the nearly empty harbor on their way to a dock, a stone plinth formed and shaped from the natural stone by mages.
A gate opened and soldiers moved down the main dock. It was similar to what the guards had worn. Though they had dealt with unruly students and checking goods and people entering the city, maintaining the peace.
They wore new helmets, arm and leg bracers, the normal enchantments had been added to as well. Their movements were cut down and economical.
These people had learned to become fighters, not just those trying to defuse the situation between people.
“I don’t see any cradles,” Valter said.
“Land it on the stone dock,” Mya said.
Desari shifted the wind as Valter increased the heat, bringing them to the dock.
“Reducing speed,” Desari said.
“Lowering,” Valter said.
The boat scraped on the ground, taking off a layer of varnish before it settled. Thenkfully the bottom was flat, so it didn’t tip them out as they came to a stop. That would been one entrance no one would be forgetting anytime soon.
Petor leapt off of the boat shook himself. “No offense, but lets not try to do that again for a long time.” The others piled out of the craft, the soldier’s approaching as Petor kept talking. “Can we go somewhere a little bit more moderate in temperature while we’re at it. These damn places filled with molten stone and fire are starting to wear.”
“I don’t know they weren’t all that bad,” Mya said.
“You were a guest on a massive flagship sailing over it all. I was sucking dust through a rag!” Petor threw up his hands in complaint. Though Desari knew him well enough to tell he was putting it on.
“You should really look into finding a new job. Doesn’t sound the best for your health.”
Petor rolled his eyes and grumbled. Ikor moved ahead of them, shaking his head at their antics. Moving much faster than them to intercept the soldiers ahead of them.
“I think that I’m getting a better handle on regulating the heat. It could be a good exercise in fluctucating the energy and transforming it,” Valter said.
“It was much smoother by the time we landed,” Desari said.
The soldier’s pace increased as they recognized Ikor. He talked to them quietly and briefly before Desari and the others reached them.
“This way.” One of the soldiers said, walking back up the dock. The gate opened behind them. Desari glanced back at the Infernal Marauder’s fleet waiting well beyond the harbor’s walls.
She passed through the spell molded archway into the city. Many cheered as Ikor came through the gate, smiles coming easier.
A collection of soldiers moved out of the way, watching them, a few whispering to one another.
The main road along the docks had been expanded. The Warehouses and bars were still working, the inns turned into homes for people.
Their clothes were well worn and patched, though there was a new strength in them. A tribulation shared amongst them all.
The soldiers that greeted them on the docks, led them through the city towards the academy’s heart. A third of the city was turned over to the academy. The houses, stores, restaurants and the weave of life that came to a city had spread it further, graduates creating homes, jobs and roots.
The atmosphere didn’t have the joviality Desari remembered. It had been a city of learning, and also youngsters. Those becoming adults to learn the way of the world, to push their own boundaries. A flickering excitement had seemed to suffuse everything.
Here, she saw hope, hope in a people that were tiredly going about their days. Gloom and worse hanging over their heads but they trudged on.
New bridges spanned new molten flows that cut through the city. Fans spun with the rising heat, directing it up and away instead of spreading through the city, attempting to keep it cooler.
Several restaurants and forges bordered the flows, using the heat for their own needs.
“Looks like they’re fishing metal out from it,” Valter said.
A man controlled a large metal bucket on a crane, digging it into the flow and pulling it back out, the molten rock flowing down its sides as he dumped it into a waiting hopper. Mages skilled in earth and fire magic filtered out the metal and rock, the cooling rock dumped back into the flow while the metal was sent for processing.
There were four other similar cranes working, each with a mage wearing enchanted goggles.
They passed through the city, reaching the outskirts of the academy. Sports fields were filled with people doing physical or fight training.
Desari hid her grimace. They had will, but they were largely unskilled. Thankfully they were all using spells. That was sure to give them at least something of an edge.
Different dormitories had expanded and grown, intermingled with various faculty buildings of the academy, which had likewise grown.
Everywhere there was open dirt, the colorful arrays of flowers had been replaced with altered crops and trees. Students carried carts with various planting tools, moving through the academy grounds.
A number of fields were enclosed, akin to the massive greenhouses, and filled with various plants to feed the population.
The fountains had been drained, filled with dirt and turned into growing beds.
Mor soldiers joined them, nodding to those that greeted them at the dock. They all wore the same black armband with a silver emblazoned I upon it. Under it they had smaller armbands of various colors.
They reached the center of the academy, several towers reaching skyward. No one paused as they went through the front room of the academy’s first tower .
It stuck up taller than all of the other towers. The upper floors given over to an observatory that was free for everyone to go through.
Soldiers around the front floor made her think that it wasn’t open to the public anymore.
The building was more worn, but everything else was the same. Desari did a double take as they passed the receptionist.
Their eyes met as Miss Rosaline covered her mouth, her lipstick nowhere to be seen as tears began running down her face.
Desari cleared her throat at looked away, towards the elevators.
A soldier had one waiting for them, their escort moving out of the way to allow them on the elevator.
“Thank you,” Ikor said.
The soldier holding the elevator hit a button and it began to ascend.