by Vance Moore
Barrin stood beside him and looked to the road that carried cargo from the river. A collection of tanks and piping sat in a depression. Barrin noticed the fresh sod and the regularity of the slope and realized that massive amounts of dirt must have been moved to create the dip.
"Why did you lower the ground there?" Barrin asked. The works served no obvious defensive purpose, and while the strange construction was hidden from a distance, aesthetics was an unlikely reason for so much labor.
"That is where we will be breaking down and refining the tufa," Willum replied as he looked on the workers connecting pipes and digging additional pits for storage. "The stuff it throws off is pretty volatile, and I decided that lowering the works would help protect the rest of the site in case of accident. Also, some of the vapors can be dangerous even if they don't burn, and the geometry of the digging sends the fumes out toward the trees instead of the hangars. The biggest trouble was making sure we had year-round drainage." Willum kicked at the turf that his men cut and laid down after they finished building the rise. "The ground can turn to quicksand in rain, and during part of the year there's a lot of standing water in this country. I didn't want a part-time lake interfering with refinery operations.
"But the hangars are the real heart of the operation and the bottleneck to the whole naval strategy," Willum said as they walked into the site. As they got closer, Barrin began to grasp the sheer scale of the endeavor, and it was impressive even when compared to the huge air sheds maintained for the dirigibles that flew under Urza's flag.
"We have already set the foundations for two hangars," Willum said. "Each will be almost a thousand feet long and nearly two hundred feet high at the roof." Barrin could barely grasp the scale of how huge the buildings would be. An army of thousands could be massed in each of the buildings with ornithopters flying inside. An entire fleet could be constructed from the wood used on site. Within the year, ten acres would be domed over.
"Why so large?" Barrin asked. "Surely building on such a remote site makes this type of construction almost impossible."
"Teferi states that we are building for the ages, and we shouldn't let the flock of small craft we fly now limit the size of our facilities," Willum answered. Barrin thought of Teferi's heavily armed whale of a command ship and wondered just how large the planeswalker's dreams were for his aerial fleet. "As you can see, we are setting up the door supports for both hangars before we begin construction of the walls."
Four sets of wooden structures laid out the comers of the hangars to come. They were all set on massive concrete pedestals. Men were completing work even as Barrin watched. Huge cranes overtopped even the soaring gate towers.
"Unfortunately, we don't have adequate men or materials to work on both structures at once with all the auxiliary buildings we are constructing." He gestured toward a barrack, the new wood looking raw even from Barrin's distant viewpoint. "If we can increase the flow of supplies, maybe we can start construction on the second hangar."
The field along one side of the proposed hangar was covered with stacks of lumber. Groups of workmen were bolting and fitting together huge sections of arches. As they drew closer, Barrin saw three great cranes being positioned with the largest secured close to the field.
"The timbers are all precut, and once they are assembled, the large crane will pass them along to the other cranes, and then they will all be raised at once."
A network of narrow trenches crisscrossed the ground before them, and Willum turned to walk the length of the proposed structure. At Barrin's glance, he briefly explained, "Drainage, remember. Eventually I'll receive a load of sewer pipe and be able to fill them in. Right now, it's trust a plank or jump over them." Willum demonstrated that he was able to navigate the hazard by leaping over a water-filled obstacle as Barrin followed.
"This is all very impressive, but I am more interested in the problems you're having now than the plans you have for the future," Barrin told him.
"My problem is we are out in the middle of nowhere, and everything has to be brought onsite." Willum waved at the stacks of cut lumber. "We've trees all over this country and upriver, but because I can't get the men or materials, there's no way to cut and mill them." He pointed in the direction of the river. "Every stick and brick I need has to be barged from along the coast to the western ports and then hauled upriver and trundled along one road." He began to stomp heavily, showing his temper. "The stinking sea monsters and the bloody Keldons seem to sink about one in three before they can get here, and you can imagine how that screws up my schedule." Barrin wondered how many men were dying for that schedule.
Willum clenched his fists in frustration. "Not that I have enough men for the materials I do get. I've scraped through every city to find decent construction workers, and I have them cooking, gathering firewood, and trying to get around a lack of basic necessities." He was beginning to wave his arms now, and Barrin prudently stepped away to avoid an unlucky blow. "We need a town and farms here, or this base will never get done in time or keep enough blimps flying."
"Surely you have communicated your problems to Teferi."
Barrin placated the distraught man. It only provoked heavier stomping and wider gestures.
"I'm not a fool. Of course I've communicated my concerns to higher command, and I received one blimp for escort duty." Willum considered the blimp in the distance with narrowed eyes. "One blimp that is available perhaps two weeks a month because it has to fly west for maintenance and rearming. I can barely get it to deliver my mail much less protect my shipping. The rest of the air fleet is always far out at sea or flying from western ports. Hell, this airbase is supposed to stop Keldon raids, and until I get it constructed, I'm naked." Willum seethed at the paradox that only after he constructed the airbase would shipments of building supplies become sure.
The builder turned to Barrin with intensity and decision plain in his eyes. "If you want to see and do something important, figure out how to guard my shipping or there won't be much to see."
Barrin wondered how he could control a stretch of nearly deserted coast for hundreds of miles with only a single blimp and a heavy ornithopter. The blimp left on patrol before he could interview its crew. As he thought, he realized that he didn't need to patrol the open sea. What needed air cover were the supply ships. Barrin resolved to fly to the shipping port to get a handle on the supply problem.
*****
The morning was crisp as Barrin walked to the ornithopter. The ground was covered with a light frost melting in the early sunlight. The shipping port of Kitani lay only an hour's flight away. It was time to take command of the supply line and expedite construction of the airbase.
Teferi was counting on patrols flying out of the hangars, and their construction depended on timely shipments. Barrin was going to convince the shippers to be bolder. As he clambered into his ornithopter, he wondered how angry he should be when he met the leaders of Kitani.
He settled into his machine, and it rose into the air swiftly. He looked at the airbase shrinking below him and saw once more how isolated it truly was. Barrin flew over the sea of forest green and soon the gray of the ocean was beneath his craft. The coast was rocky, and Barrin glanced at the waves beating on cliffs and narrow beaches. The violence of the waves evoked images of the Keldons waiting to attack these shores. The raiders must be stopped out at sea, or, like a tidal wave, they would wash over the coastal towns. This land was under his protection now. He thought on how to defend it as the flight continued.
The first sign that something was wrong was a magical call that washed over him like a bucket of ice water.
"This is Kitani. We are under attack from Keldon raiders. At least two ships have landed, and warriors are inside the city. Any League forces within range. This is Kitani…" The message repeated, an ethereal cry for help. Barrin thought on how thinly stretched the League was and realized that he might be the only aid the city could expect. He accelerated to his maximum speed and wondered if he would
reach Kitani in time.
The port city appeared in the distance. Smoke was beginning to rise, and Barrin could tell that fires burned in several places. Soon piers and docks showed, with many of the warehouses and boatyards engulfed in flame. Two Keldon warships were tied up, their decks nearly deserted.
The raiders must already be in town, Barrin thought. But where are the League forces?
Then he saw flames devouring wreckage on a beach outside of the city. A blimp had crashed and was burning. The pile of debris suddenly shattered in a series of explosions as munitions cooked off. The flames were green and purple and rose toward the heavens. The concussion rocked Barrin's ornithopter as he swooped to land. Then flaming fragments struck his craft as he hit the ground in a controlled crash. Flaming brands fell everywhere, and he knew that his first priority was stopping the fires or he would lose the town.
Barrin threw himself outside and coughed as the smoke and haze swept over him. He steadied himself and cast his magic into the sky. His power ballooned over the town and his mind peered down into the city streets. Fighting spread from house to house, but it was the fires that grabbed his attention. The figures of League marines faded from his thoughts as he grounded his power into the sea. Now clouds filled the sky and the sea steamed as water catapulted itself into Barrin's dome of power. The sky was black and rumbling with thunder as more and more water collected in the air. The sky reached maximum saturation, and then it released as the storm began. Water poured in, driving rain that extinguished many of the fires in an instant. Fighting in the town slowed as men flattened under the force of the water. The most intense conflagrations were hit harder as Barrin concentrated on them. Wind threw a river of water into buildings, and the hiss of steam could be heard over the storm. Barrin turned his attention to the Keldon ships, but even as he concentrated and rallied his power, another magic user latched onto the storm.
Fountains of power reared up on the docks and congealed into crystalline towers of magic. Barrin could feel the sharp recoil as new magic speared the storm. He readied for a counter stroke, but the taste of the magic was so familiar. He realized that it reminded him of the League distress call. Lightning flowed from the storm into the crystals, and then arcs of energy sheared into the Keldon vessels. Decks seared and exploded as the power flowed over the ships. Sailors were charred as the Keldons rushed to respond. Barrin felt admiration for the unknown ally, but he could feel the Keldon mages preparing a response as the League magic cleared the decks.
"We have no time," Barrin said as he detected more fighting within the city. People were dying, and Barrin resolved to finish the Keldon ships now. His mind clenched, and sheet lightning blinded him as he directed his will. The energy surge hit the crystal towers, and they detonated in a white flash, tearing through the Keldon ships. One craft exploded as Keldon magic interacted with Barrin's strike, and debris flew everywhere. The other ship was gutted as a wound opened from stem to stern. Keldons died in agony as arcs of power played over them. The sea filled the hull almost instantly, and the ship settled, its decks soon underwater.
Barrin gasped, bent over with strain as his mind disengaged from the sky. The storm continued, but the rain lightened as his will no longer directed the deluge. Barrin straightened and headed into the city, preparing himself to meet the Keldons at close quarters.
The streets were narrow and cobblestone. The buildings were stone and timber, and rain poured from tiled roofs. Here and there structures smoldered and stank as the continuing rain drenched materials that had burned only minutes before. Barrin turned a corner, and suddenly a sword flashed. But the attack stopped before Barrin responded. A League marine stood before him with a small target shield, his sword ready. Water poured from his helmet and armor as he saluted.
"Sir, if you would come with me to the captain, sir!" He turned and ran deeper into town. Barrin followed, bemused by his instant acceptance. The marine went past a series of barricades, and Barrin could see corpses as they continued up the street.
"How did you know I was coining?" Barrin asked. The marine paused to check around a corner before continuing.
"We have scouts running the roofs, and they reported you landing," the marine replied. "We assumed that you had something to do with the storm,"
Barrin nodded, but the marine darted around the corner before he could continue. A long street lay before them, and a barricade was at each end. A company of men and war machines stood ready, and Barrin got a glimpse of more soldiers in other buildings.
"The magic user from the beach," the scout reported to the officer in charge. Smoke and ash had darkened the officer's skin and uniform, and he grinned as Barrin came up.
"Excellent attack, Lord Barrin," the officer said, noting the mage's surprise. "All naval and marine commands were notified of your arrival on the coast. Can we expect more reinforcements soon?" He peered behind Barrin as if watching for more arrivals.
"I'm afraid that no one else is with me," Barrin stated. "I wouldn't count on any more help for quite some time."
The officer swore and turned to consider the street. The marines were armed with swords, shields, and light armor. Several stood ready with short bows, and Barrin could see other bowmen creeping along the roofs on one side of the street. Barrin regarded the war machines that he could see. Most were steel ants, the machines dripping water and some lubricants. Most were battered, and a few were missing limbs. Barrin wondered how heavy the fighting had been. Two machines towered over the rest. These were marine mantises-six-legged bodies at waist height with rearing towers for torsos that overtopped the marines standing beside them. Their heads were insectile and large with great mandibles covered with blood from today's fighting. Each had the two arms folded against its body, and Barrin could see flesh and cloth caught in the barbed surfaces. Then Barrin detected the rising of familiar magic and walked closer to the barricade, stepping up onto a cart for a better view.
Standing on the other side of the barricade was an athletic-looking Jamuraan woman with straight black hair. Barrin could feel the power rushing through her frame. She was wearing a soaked blue cloak with an intricate black and white checker pattern across the front, and she looked tiny-nearly lost-under the wet cloth. Two marines crouched next to her with large shields, tensed as if waiting to interpose themselves between her and danger. She flung her arms wide and three crystalline tops appeared and raced down the street. Each top spun and glowed with inner fire as they dodged around bodies, heading for the open doors of a building midway down the road. Suddenly shutters flew up, and Keldon warriors stood revealed, hurling weapons and debris at the tops. Two shattered, and the pieces tumbled to the ground before dissolving into the aether. Marine archers on the roofs of the buildings across the street shot volleys of arrows, sending warriors for cover. The surviving top curved into the entrance and exploded. Barrin could see blue knives of crystalline magic flying back out of the entrance and thudding into buildings across the sheet.
"Damn," the woman swore as she crouched behind the shields her two marines had raised. "I thought I'd get two inside." The marine captain stepped forward and waved her down.
"This is Alexi, Lord Barrin," he said. "She was a mage on a blimp and had the misfortune to be shot down outside of town."
"Lucky for you I survived," she said hotly. "I wonder how you would have done without me." She glowered briefly. "I've been making those swine pay for my crew all afternoon, and if I could get some support we could finish them now!"
The captain shrugged and turned apologetically to Barrin. "We have pinned the raiders in the warehouses on one side of the street. We can't surround the building, and eventually the raiders are going to chop another entrance and escape."
"Why not blow open the buildings and send your machines in under cover fire from the archers?" Barrin asked. Alexi seemed powerful enough, and with his aid they could peel the complex like a grape.
"We thought of that, but the building contains essential supplies that e
xplosions and heavy weapons would damage. The place must be taken by hand to hand, and storming the entrances is going to be bloody. I'd wait, but Alexi says there's at least one Keldon mage in there. He'll burn the place down, or his soldiers will, if we wait much longer. And without their ships they are going to try to destroy the rest of the town. We will attack in five minutes." The captain visibly tensed up as he prepared to give the order.
"Wait, Captain," Barrin said with authority. "If Alexi and I were to screen your attack until you entered the building, you could achieve maximum surprise and avoid casualties during you charge. Let me confer with Alexi for a moment, and then you can send your orders." The captain looked as if a division had appeared to support him and went to talk to his soldiers in better humor.
"Screen them how?" Alexi whispered as the captain withdrew.
"First, how many mages are in that building?" Barrin asked.
"There's just one opposing mage left, but those buildings are crammed with munitions, refined tufa oil, and essential naval stores. The first thing the mage will do is destroy it all, and perhaps the town, when we break in. We'll destroy the place ourselves if we throw anything too powerful. My tops and light-knives are as strong as I dare use." Alexi looked disgusted at the curbs to her power and thirst for battle.
"I can prevent the Keldons from seeing the charge, and I can smother the efforts of just one mage," Barrin said with confidence. "But I can't keep it up forever, so the marines need to take that building quickly."
"I will push the attack myself." She said. "When will you be ready?"
"As soon as I get into a better viewing position," Barrin replied and went to speak to the captain. Within minutes new orders were flying, and Barrin made his way to the roofs with the archers. He half-crawled over the roof across from the main warehouse entrance. He seated himself and began to call up his power. He imagined the world as a painting, scenery coming into existence as he maneuvered his imaginary canvas into position in front of the warehouse. Archers poured from the roof down stairwells as Barrin signaled that his illusion was in place. The League marines began to walk down the street quietly and carefully, a few soldiers left at the barricade making as much noise as possible to cover the shuffling of feet. Steel ants and the mantises were hand guided for maximum silence. Barrin felt the illusion firming, and he began raising more power. The most difficult part was masking his magic so as to remain undetected. Barrin infiltrated the warehouse with subtle spells, feeling for the knot of energy that was the enemy mage. More power licked into the structure as Barrin filled it with his awareness and will.
