“I intend to find out,” I said. Wiggea had certainly lost himself to Finesia. But was Taka right? Would there be any chance of bringing him back?
“Thank you, Miss,” the captain said. “And maybe if you get rid of him, we can give you a slight discount.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “But maybe you’ll consider waiving any exceptions that might occur.”
“I understand, Maam,” the captain said, and he turned to look towards the port.
All this time, Faso had been sitting on his dragon automaton, watching our exchange from a distance. But he chose this moment to descend and walk over to us. Winda stayed on board, fiddling with something at the back of the dragon armour with a screwdriver. Faso knelt down and rapped the floor of the deck with his knuckles. “I’ve often wondered about how well the fabled icebreakers are constructed. Say, have you ever considered an upgrade? I’d be happy to supply you with some superior technology – for the right price.”
Captain Pitash turned to Faso and raised an eyebrow. “And you are?”
“Faso Gordoni, inventor extraordinaire, at your service.” He held out his hand.
Pitash shook it. “Well, Mr Gordoni, maybe we’ll see if we can do business, but you have to understand it will have to be in both our best interests.”
And I left Faso to present his business pitch to the captain, wondering what the wellies he needed money for. I approached Wiggea at the front. He turned to me slowly as I stepped cautiously forward. The deck became quite narrow towards the front of the ship, necessary I guess for cutting through the ice. Soon, I had to step with one foot in front of the other, my hands stretched out at my sides to keep balance. Yet Wiggea had placed himself on the raised edges of the deck, not teetering one bit as the boat rocked.
“I delivered what I promised,” he said in the collective unconscious. “That’s how much I love you.”
I ignored his false expressions of amour, “And the means you went to do so, Wiggea. The captain of these vessels told me what happened. Why did so many have to die?”
“I merely did what was necessary to get the ships you needed.”
“And how does this fit into Finesia’s plans? Why does she want to help us?”
The pale-faced man looked mortally offended, but I knew it was all a ruse. “I came to offer my help. And now, are you saying you don’t want it? I love you, Pontopa, and I will do what I can to make your life easier.”
I shook my head. “You know, the real Wiggea always worried about his emotions getting in the way of his duty. And now you say you’re being dutiful because you love me. The real Wiggea is dead.” My heart sank in my chest as I said these words. I was denying his existence, yet I was still looking at the handsome lines of Wiggea’s face, just as I remembered him.
“He isn’t dead,” Finesia said in my head. “He’s merely become the man you wanted him to be. You tried to tell him yourself that he needed to let go of his sense of duty to become complete. And I merely showed him the way to a better life.”
As Finesia spoke, Wiggea watched me with patient eyes and a lopsided smile. A cold gust of wind came off the sea, blowing my hair into my face, and causing me to shiver.
“Wiggea, you should stop this nonsense, and leave immediately,” I said out loud. “You’ve proven through your actions you’re not trustworthy. And the only thing you’re bringing to this boat is fear into the men who are trying to run it.”
“As you wish,” he said. And a plume of blackened dust rose around him. He was so close, that the energy from it sent me stumbling backwards as if hit by a shock wave. I might have tumbled off into the water if General Sako hadn’t been standing behind to catch me.
“Dragonheats, he’s getting away,” General Sako said. His breath reeked of stale secicao.
“And good riddance,” I replied. As I watched him go, I couldn’t help but worry about what might lie in wait for us. I had no idea what Finesia wanted.
“You’ll understand everything soon enough,” Finesia said in my head. “Once I know that I have your complete allegiance then, I promise you, I’ll reveal every single one of my plans.”
Finesia. Wiggea had lost his mind to her. Charth had lost his mind to her. And nothing terrified me more than also losing my mind to her. Such a fate seemed even worse than death.
13
It took us a few hours to navigate the icebreakers to the rest of the fleet. After that, we sailed the small flotilla around the top of the Southern Barrier without incident.
The first sign of the icecaps appeared mid-afternoon the next day. The sun was fast descending from its low apex in the sky. It brought with it a pleasant warmth that allayed the harsh chill coming off the ice, on which some seals lay bathing lazily in the sun, seemingly unaffected by the cold.
I watched the scene from the conference section of the bridge, while a few sailors placed pads of paper and cups of hot tea on the table behind me. Lieutenant Talato was already sitting in her place, examining her nails. A large overhead fan heater blew warm air at me, and I now wore a thick woollen jumper and a stuffed gilet to help keep this in. But, I really wasn’t one for stuffiness, so I stood by the open window relishing the fresh draft against my face, as the rest of my body remained warm. I’d also got hold of some gloves, but I didn’t need to wear them indoors, and so these hung from a cord at my hips.
I soon heard General Sako and Admiral Sandao coming up the stairs around the aft funnel to the bridge.
“Blunders and dragonheats, Dragonseer Wells,” General Sako said as he came through the hatch. “I thought you were warm-blooded. Close the window, will you? It’s bloody freezing.”
“Freezing? Don’t you think it’s a little airless in here? We have a heater to add some warmth.” I glanced at Sandao, who lowered his head sheepishly.
“It’s okay when you don’t have to wear a proper uniform,” General Sako said. “But our suits weren’t designed for intense cold.”
“Didn’t you bring thermals with you?” I asked, with a sly smile.
But he didn’t seem to want to jest. “I’ll put on my long johns when I finally need to. For now, please keep the window closed.”
I shrugged and reached out to swing the window shut, only turning its clasp halfway so we at least got a sliver of fresh air. General Sako nodded, then took a place at the head of the table, while Sandao took his place at the other.
I sat down next to Lieutenant Talato. The ruddy-faced Lieutenant Candiorno, a couple more of General Sako’s lieutenants and three of Admiral Sandao’s had been waiting in the control section of the bridge in front of the foremost funnel. But as if in response to General Sako’s bawling voice, they marched over, saluted then took their place at the table.
“And guess what? The inventor’s late again,” General Sako said, looking at his pocket watch.
And just a moment later, we heard Faso Gordoni’s heavy boots clanking up the stairs. He nodded and took a seat next to me. Ratter emerged from the inventor’s flared suit sleeve and lay down in front of him on the table.
“No Winda today, Faso?” I asked.
“She’s repairing the dragon automaton. Those sharks left quite a few scratches and we want to ensure everything’s in working order.”
“And what about Velos’ armour?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you check that for repairs too?”
Faso scowled at me. “I thought you didn’t want us touching the armour without your express permission?”
“Repairs are okay. Just ask next time you make a modification, okay?”
Faso snorted and then took hold of a pad of paper and squared it out on the table in front of him.
“Right then,” Admiral Sandao said and stood up. “Shall we start?”
“Absolutely,” General Sako said. “I’ll let you lead, admiral.”
“Very well. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss our next steps. General Sako and I are both worried about our present course of action, particularly given Travast Indorm’s
warning that he’ll send more automatons—”
“Absolute baloney,” Faso cut in. And Admiral Sandao turned to look at the inventor, his eyes wide in surprise. “Travast is just making empty threats.”
“Blunders and dragonheats, Gordoni,” General Sako said. “Do not interrupt a senior admiral like that. Don’t you know your place?”
“As a civilian, you mean,” Faso said twiddling his steepled fingers. “I’m the only non-military type at this table, it seems.”
“On a military vessel, meaning you’re under military jurisdiction,” General Sako pointed out. “So, start showing some respect for the rules.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Faso gave a lazy salute.
I took a sip from my cup of tea, relishing the warmth that coursed down my body. Opposite, Lieutenant Candiorno was clicking the top of his pen repeatedly, rather ingratiatingly. I stared at him, and he returned an abashed look, then stopped.
“Thank you, General,” Admiral Sandao said. “Now, intel has suggested that the factory can produce automatons at an astonishing rate. As we draw closer, we’re likely to see increased resistance. My concern specifically is that if we try pushing through a solid mass such as ice, the king’s war automatons can waltz right over and board our ships before we can even fight back.”
“But the automatons’ narrow legs won’t work on ice,” Faso said. “The king has never had to do battle in this region. I explained all this before.” This time, he ignored the hard glare from General Sako.
“It doesn’t mean Travast won’t make the necessary modifications,” Admiral Sandao said in response.
“There’s no way he’d do it in time,” Faso said.
“And with all due respect, Mr Gordoni,” the admiral said. “Have you enough knowledge on the factory to know that Mr Indorm lacks the capabilities?”
“No,” said Faso. “But wouldn’t it be rational to send out scouts to find out, so we’re not planning our next course of action on mere speculations?”
“Candiorno, make a note of that,” General Sako said. “Possibility one, send out scouts to factory. Also add as a footnote: ‘if we can spare the resources’.”
Candiorno nodded, clicked his pen once more. Then he scratched some notes quickly on his pad of paper. I couldn’t quite see his handwriting, but with the manner in which he wrote, I assumed it to be terrible.
“Have we got any alternative?” I offered. “I mean, we could be sitting ducks here, if as Sandao suggests the king’s automatons are equipped with the technology to navigate the ice.”
“And the dragons might be necessary to defend the fleet,” General Sako said. “If we send them all out, what defence will we have if there’s an attack?”
“But surely getting through would take forever?” I said, and I glanced out at the windows at the three icebreakers that were now approaching the icecaps. The copper coils at the front of their helms were now red hot, and steam floated up from the front of the boats.
“Actually,” General Sako said. “With all this modern technology, Captain Pitash has advised it might only take three days to get to the mouth of the Ginfro River. Depending on the thickness of the ice, of course, which he can’t ascertain at this stage.”
“Which gives us an opportunity to take the dragons out,” I said. “A couple of scouts – the dragon automaton and Velos would be ideal.” The smug look on Faso’s face showed me that he also agreed.
“That’s a suicide mission,” General Sako said. “You’re far too young to be throwing your life away like that, Dragonseer Wells. And no doubt you’ll want to take my grandson with you too.”
“What other choice do we have?” Clearly, the dragons were needed here to protect the boats in the event of an attack.
Outside, the icebreakers had widened a thick passage in the ice. It ran a yard or two into the icecap now. But I could see even with their heated coils on the front, our journey through would be slow.
“We could patiently sit this one out,” General Sako said. “Hold off any attacks sent against us.”
“Or,” Admiral Sandao raised an eyebrow. “We could split our forces.”
“What do you mean?” General Sako asked.
“We could ferry your commandos and my marines out to land, with a small force of dragons accompanying them. That way, they can march forwards as the icebreakers weave their way towards Ginlast proper.”
“And what about the other dragons?” I asked.
“They can stay on the boat, ready to be called out by Pontopa and Taka, if and when you need them. You can follow us for a while, make camp on the land, and send scouts out to the factory when you think it’s appropriate.”
“That could actually work,” General Sako said. There came footsteps from the steel staircase and Candalmo entered via the door.
“I’m sorry, am I disturbing an important meeting here?”
“What is it, Mr Segora?” General Sako asked.
“You asked me to report on the status of the icebreakers, General. Unfortunately, the ice is a lot thicker than we first thought. Progress through is going to be incredibly slow and could last up to ten days.”
I nodded. “General Sako, how long would it take to march from the closest land point to Ginlast?”
“As little as three days.”
“Then I think our course of action is decided,” I said. “If we’re all agreed, it looks like the best solution here is to march inland.”
“I think we have no choice in this scenario,” Admiral Sandao said. “I’ll supervise the situation here where I can best serve and try to get the fleet as close as possible to you if you need to retreat. We’ll use Hummingbirds to constantly exchange information about our positions.”
And there was a murmur of agreement around the table.
As Admiral Sandao and General Sako continued to discuss plans, with the occasional snarky interjection from Faso, I turned to look out the window. The coils on the icebreakers were touching the ice, and some steam was coming up from the contact point, but the passage hadn’t moved much further. Indeed, it looked like melting our way through the icecaps would take an awful long time.
I had hoped, after dealing with so much grey weather on the journey up, that we’d at least have some sunshine our march to Ginlast. Unfortunately, we weren’t to be so lucky. Although the fog didn’t return, the sky again had got rather grey and bleak. This made it feel even colder as we walked, though it probably also decreased visibility, making it less likely for patrols to see us coming. A blessing in disguise, I guess.
We had brought out eight Greys in the end, as well as Velos and Faso’s dragon automaton. Between them, the dragons had ferried across thirty-three of General Sako’s Commandos, eleven of Sandao’s marines, Winda, Faso, General Sako, Lieutenant Talato, Lieutenant Candiorno, Taka, and myself. General Sako hadn’t been too happy about bringing his grandson. But I’d pointed out that we’d no idea where he’d be safer – on the boat or on land. At least this way he could keep an eye on him.
It had taken a good couple of hours to complete the operation, and it was mid-morning. Now, we had to march across a tundra landscape blanketed by six inches of snow. Fortunately, we had thick boots, but the dragons didn’t enjoy marching too well. We couldn’t let them up into the air as that would increase the chances of us getting spotted. So, even Faso’s dragon automaton had to progress on foot.
Each dragon and the automaton wore snowshoes around four times the size of a tennis racket on their feet. They looked ridiculous, and the dragons seemed to know it. Velos, in particular, growled and grumbled about it constantly as he walked.
We made a good pace over the terrain, six commandos in a snow-white camouflage uniform taking the lead and scouting the territory ahead as we pushed forward, and then small mixed squads of marines and commandos supporting two dragons each. Velos and the dragon automaton marched together, and Faso, Winda, General Sako, Taka and I marched with them. Velos had his helmet on, and both Faso and I had our helmets
dangling from our hips, just in case we needed to access them in a hurry.
“All your advances on technology, and still you end up having to walk miles on foot. Why is that, when you have the benefit of wings?” Finesia was there inside my head again. Nattering away. And maybe the boredom of the march caused me to be a little more receptive to her. She might have been scary, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t entertaining.
Despite the bleakness of the landscape, occasionally we came across a snow fox, or a white rabbit, or a dove. But sometimes, all I needed to do was blink, and they weren’t animals at all, but war automatons and hornets ready to close in on us.
The first time this phenomenon occurred was with a small colony of white rabbits that I saw as four war automatons. I blinked again, and these automatons became dark shade-like creatures that I’d only before seen in my nightmares, with white glowing eyes. After another blink, I saw again the wildlife, as innocent as it had always been.
I shook my head and moved over to check on Taka, instructing Talato to accompany me. If I was going to start hallucinating, I figured it was best to keep both of them nearby.
Taka was talking to Faso, or rather should I say, listening to Faso boast about how advanced the dragon automaton was compared to anything anyone had seen before. As I approached, Taka yawned and turned to me.
His eyebrows knotted. “What is it, Auntie Pontopa?” he asked in the collective unconscious.
I shook my head hard. “It’s nothing,” I said. “Nothing at all,” I then said out loud. And one of the marines marching just ahead of us turned to me and looked at me in surprise.
“Get on with your duty, soldier,” I snapped. “There’s nothing to see here.”
He assessed me with a concerned look for a moment and then turned back to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Taka said. “I remember you told Gerhaun that you needed me here if anything went wrong. What’s happening, Auntie?”
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