Towers of Redact

by RG Long

  “You said we had to watch him!” Jurrin replied as he went to the Skrilx’s side.

  “I meant somebody else had to watch him! As in finding someone to watch him! What are we going do with him on the battlefield?”

  “Here now!” Jaxon said as he looked out ahead. “What’s that we’re coming up on?”

  Teresa turned around and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.

  Smoke was rising up over the horizon. Not a little bit. What she had mistaken for morning fog was actually fires burning down on the ground in front of them — hundreds of fires.

  Teresa turned to look down below them and see what was there. It was debris of all kinds. Airships smashed to pieces.

  “Turn around Jaxon,” Jill was saying as she leaped to the front of the ship.

  They were just now coming into view of the camp that the Court of Three had made. Thousands upon thousands of tents where soldiers had spent the night, celebrating their victory.

  All just beside the ruins of the fleet of Rerial. The ship began to veer to the right as Jaxon began to change their course.

  “Wait a second,” Teresa said. “We haven’t found her friends. We don’t know where they’re at!”

  “Turn around now! We’re out of luck!”

  Teresa brought her attention front. There, just passed the fires of the airships were hundreds of screeching birds. The same ones that had chased them from the court into Rerial. And then, what Teresa had assumed was a big hill that the Court of Three had camped around, began to rise up out of the ground and stretch out its massive glowing wings.

  “What is that thing?” Teresa said.

  “I’d rather not get a close look,” Jill shouted as she ran back to Jaxon. “Turn around now!”

  Both Urt and Jaxon were attempting to obey. The Sky Dart, however, seemed slow to respond.

  “It’s a griffin,” Jill said in awe as the beast rose up into the air.

  The mechanical monster let out an ear-piercing screech, just as the Sky Dart began to turn away from the Court of Three camp in a painfully slow arc. Several of the birds of prey had broken away from the main group of them that were circling the larger monster.

  Just as they were beginning to face the opposite direction, Teresa saw three airships coming out of the north. Each of them had black and red flags on their front. Magical arcs of energy came from them as they were firing bolts of energy at the larger griffin, ignoring the smaller birds.

  “Look!” Jurrin said from the door. “More ships from Rerial!”

  Just as he said it, the giant griffin creature turned its attention from the Sky Dart and opened its wide beaked mouth. A burst of energy came from it and tore through one of the ships. The other two continued barreling towards the griffin.

  Teresa saw it raise up its claws and tear one ship from the sky. Its massive arms were as long as the airships that came after it. The ship crumpled underneath the weight of its claws. Swarms of birds of prey swarmed the other ship. Little glowing explosions of orange and yellow lit up the morning sky.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Jill was shouting at Jaxon. “Get this thing out of here!”

  “I’m trying Jill! Get down and see if you can get this thing soaring any faster?”

  Jill cursed and jumped below deck. Jurrin scurried after her.

  “Get Galp back into bed, Urt!” the halfling shouted as he disappeared below after Jill.

  The Skrilx growled at Jurrin before jumping down from the wheel and helping Galp back through the door. Teresa looked behind them as they sped away from the battle and the giant griffin. The third airship was still zooming circles around the griffin, shooting it with its magical crossbows. The giant monster appeared unphased.

  A group of the birds of prey had broken off from the swarm and were beginning to chase them down. Teresa had stumbled over to the entry to the lower deck and fell to her knees. She grasped onto the side of the hole as tightly as she could, fearing that she might not get back to the railing if she let go.

  “Get this thing going!” Teresa shouted.

  “Don’t rush me!” Jill replied from below.

  “Now is the time to be rushed!” Teresa yelled back.

  The birds that had broken off from the main group were fast. They were catching up with the Sky Dart and, from how the air felt in her hair, they were flying much faster as the Sky Dart itself began to slow.

  “Wrong direction!” Jaxon called down, confirming Teresa’s fears. “Not slower! Faster!”

  “Shut up and fly!” Jill shouted back.

  “Misses Jill! You’re shouting at your own husband something awful!”

  “Incoming!” Teresa shouted. The fear of flying had left her as the fear of being pecked to death by the birds that were flying up next to them took over.

  Urt was by her side in a moment, a large spear in his hands. He handed Teresa a wooden mallet. The magic that the creatures were power by gave them extra protection. They repelled ordinary swords and blades. But spears that could pierce their Rimstone foreheads and hammers that could smash the stones worked just fine.

  The first bird landed on the deck and let out a terrible screech before Urt struck forward with his spear. He was an excellent fighter, and the tip of the weapon struck right through the stone that kept the beast in motion.

  As the Rimstone shattered, the prices of metal that had once been the giant bird fell helplessly to the deck. There was no time to celebrate. Three of its friends joined them on the deck and raised up long metal claws.

  “If we can get out of range of the Speaker controlling them we’ve got a chance!” Teresa said as she swung her hammer at the first one that lunged at them. She knocked it cleaned off the deck of the Sky Dart and didn’t even watch it fall satisfyingly away before she turned to the next.

  Jaxon grunted as he kicked out at the bird who was approaching him.

  “Don’t have to tell me twice! Jill! Are we ready for a boost?”’

  “Boost yourself!” Jill shouted.

  “Argh!” Jaxon yelled as the bird clawed at the wheel, causing the ship to dip to the right.

  Teresa could feel her feet falling away from the deck, and she let out a yell of terror. She couldn’t fight these birds from the air. Before Urt could leave the bird who was trying to peck his eyes out to go help Jaxon, Teresa saw the bird she was facing fall to pieces as a stone fell to the ground.

  Jurrin had emerged from beneath the deck and slung a stone at the monstrous creation.

  “Full sail, Mister Jaxon!” he shouted.

  Teresa watched as Jaxon pushed down as hard as he could on the steering column. The ship righted itself just as it took on a great burst of speed. She just barely had time to grab onto the railing as the bird who was bearing down on her lost its footing. Urt was by her side, thrusting his spear at the bird, knocking it off balance and sending it over the side of the ship. Then the great cat grabbed the railing to hold them down. Jaxon let out a whoop of joy.

  “Now we’re flying!”

  They were indeed going faster than they had since they had left the hangar that early morning. But instead of feeling triumph by escaping the birds, Teresa felt only dread.

  “Did you see how many airships were on the ground?” she asked Urt.

  “And that terrible mechanical griffin? It tore the airships that came over them apart. It’s massive.”

  Urt just nodded.

  Teresa didn’t know what she wanted him to say or what she wanted to hear. Ealrin and the others had gone on with his father on those ships. What if he had been down in the wreckage and they had passed over him?

  What if he was dead?

  The terrible thought hurt Teresa much more than she had once considered. Knowing what bonds she shared with Ealrin made her feel a connection to him, that was foreign with all others. He alone could understand her pain. No one else in their company had done as they had.

  If she had lost him...

  “We’ve got to land somewhere soon!” Jaxon sai
d. “I don’t know how much longer this thing can fly with this kind of handling!”

  Jill finally emerged from the deck.

  “You’re welcome!” she said as she threw several tools on the ground there. “And it’s no small wonder we’re still in the sky. Hand to rearrange half the stones and the gearboxes down there! What a mess!”

  Jaxon beamed at her.

  “She’s the best there is!” he bragged.

  Teresa shut her eyes. She was glad for the married couple to be here with them. There was no way they could have made it without them.

  “Reckon we ought to stop at Poral?” he asked.

  “Already flown past it I think,” Jill said, looking over the side of the ship at the land and water that was sailing fast beneath them. “Best stop at Darc for tonight and then set sail in the morning.”

  Darc.

  That was a nation Teresa was familiar with in her study of the land of Redact. They had not taken a side when it came to the Skrilx wars years ago. Instead, they had remained neutral and much out of the way of the continental divide.

  Perhaps that would be ok for now. But what happened to Ealrin and the others? Teresa didn’t know. But she also knew they didn’t have time to find out.

  “Darc it is then!” Teresa called.

  25: Loyalties

  Commander Sefen sat proudly on the ruins of Jamal. The first city to fall to the Court of Three had barely put up any resistance at all. Once they had seen their airship torn from the sky by the court’s griffin, the residence of Jamal had surrendered wholeheartedly and in short order.

  But surrender had done nothing to stop the onslaught of the army of Sefen, however.

  Commander Sefen was not interested in mercy or honor.

  He wanted a full and outright war. If the Court of Three was to spread their ideals far and wide over the continent of Redact, then they would need to fell more than just the one pathetic nation that had sired it. They would need to invoke the wrath of other lands as well. The atrocities committed against Rerial would serve as a launching point for them. Their war would be brutal and complete. The entire continent of Redact would come to serve the banner of the Court before long. Seven would ensure that such a war would happen.

  The great city of Jamal had been one of the founders of Ariel. The city that had produced the metal and processed the wood needed for the fleet had been a bustling city with many great factories and foundries. Thousands had resided within these walls, with another thousand to protect it.

  The wall that had surrounded it was tall and strong, but nothing could have prepared to defend them from the onslaught of the Court of Three had reigned down on them.

  Their magical griffin could only be animated by the work of twenty speakers working in unison. Each one of those speakers could have unleashed ten birds of prey, but working together they could control the airship killer’s golden beak much more effectively. It was a terrifying sight to behold, as well.

  The great Griffith now was motionless above the capital building of Jamal. Perched like a cat holding court, the Griffin stood silently waiting to be called back into destruction. All Commander Sefen had to do was say the word, and his twenty speakers would reanimate the terrifying creation. Then more destruction would come. Sefen smiled. It was just as he wanted.

  He looked out over the ruins and saw soldiers picking through rubble and collecting the spoils of war. He had not discouraged this. If any soldier wished to claim extra coins for their pockets because they found them in the ruins of a house, he had knocked down, so be it.

  It meant that soldiers would bother them less about getting their own pay from the Court if all the riches of Rerial were at their feet right now. More armies marching for a longer period of time meant more for Sefen than any gold he might have collected. He needed war, not riches. Funny, however, how those two always went hand in hand.

  A screech went up behind him — a warning call. Several of the speakers who had controlled the griffin ran to Sefen, waiting for his signal.

  “It’s an airship, sir! It’s not flying the flag of Rerial though,” a messenger reported, running up to Sefen, and breathing heavily.

  Commander Sefen scratched his chin.

  “Let it through,” he said, more curious than anything else. “But if they so much as move to their crossbows, tear the ship to pieces.”

  Sefen watched as the airship approached. It did not circle the city, nor did it make any moves to attack. Instead, it gracefully sailed right to the edge of where the walls once stood and landed. From this distance, Sefen could see a small group disembark from the ship.

  If it was not Rerial, then who was it? Or was the nation not flying their flag in order to get closer to the Court’s leadership?

  As he watched them approached, he wondered who Rerial might have sent to parlay with him, and how he might inspire new acts of war and terror by how he treated them. He reveled in his tortuous daydreams as more people came running towards him. This time, they were his own soldiers.

  Messengers ran through the mess of the city and dodged ruins and rubble in order to run right up to Sefen. When they arrived, they all bowed low. Sefen smiled at this. He was the Court now. He should be treated as royally as any High Judge.

  “It’s not Rerial,” a younger man in the front said. “It’s a man and a few others. He says he represents no country, but simply wishes to speak to the commander of the army.”

  This was a development Sefen and did not see coming. Stroking his chin again, he wondered what it might mean.

  “Allow them passage,” he said. “But I wish speakers to escort them at all times.”

  “Yes, commander,” the young messenger replied before running off in the direction these strangers were walking.

  Commander Sefen had known for some time that many of the airships of Rerial’s first fleet had been stolen by a band of pirates and brigands. Though the nation had sought to silence such whispers and stories, Sefen had heard them and gloated along with his fellow generals. The idea of there being others using Rerial’s most treasured possession delighted him.

  But who might it be?

  Who was using the airships now was something he did not know. It was, however, something he thought was most curious, and it remained the sole reason he had allowed this particular airship to survive.

  Those who would steal airships from Rerial might well be allies to the Court of Three. Or at least to Commander Sefen.

  The small group finally made their way through the ruined city and up to Sefen. He sat, watching them with a blank expression. The man who approached him seemed to carry himself in a very sure way. He certainly didn’t walk as if he were deep in an enemy encampment with ten speakers beside him; hands raised ready to strike.

  The only people who walked with him was a female warrior Commander Sivan did not recognize, a squat looking elf who seemed to have given up on his heritage, and a woman Commander Sefen did know. The lady of the eastern garrison.

  “What are you doing here, Cyna?” Commander Sefen asked. “I was under the impression you had been ordered back to the garrison and had failed to report for duty. I would be most interested to know what you are now doing in the company of someone who is not your commanding officer.”

  Cyna folded her arms in front of her chest but said nothing. Instead, she looked at the man in the middle who gave a slight bow towards Commander Sefen.

  “I’m glad to know the court of three is not so brutal that they forget the names of those who serve for them,” he said with a mirthless grin, still bowed down. “However it does seem that you’ve leveled a city to the ground with a little care for casualties on either side.”

  The man returned to a standing position and looked around as if examining the destruction for the first time.

  “From one who desires destruction and nations to be at war with another, allow me to compliment your work here today. And that is fabulous crafting you’ve accomplished there. Something I would not have
thought possible in my lifetime.”

  The man pointed at the Griffin. Some of the speakers looked up to where the beast stood, motionless. Others looked in between the commander and the stranger.

  Commander Sefen, for his part, did not take his eyes off of the man.

  “And who are you?” he asked lazily. He recognized the type someone who would stall introducing himself so that the person he was talking to would have to ask.

  Sefen did not care much for theatrics.

  “Ferdinand Andreno,” he said bowing again. “The pleasure is all mine.”

  “Ferdinand?” Sefen said as he crossed his arms. “I was wondering when I would have the pleasure of meeting the leader of the Blackthorn gang in the flesh.”

  Now the ones who had stolen the airships made sense to him. Of course, the Blackthorn’s would have been behind it. Though the gang had always denied involvement, they could never be trusted when they claimed credit for an attack or denied that one ever existed. What criminal activity on Redact in the last five decades had not been orchestrated by this infamous group of criminals? What in the world did they want to do with him here?

  Ferdinand inclined his head.

  “You are as informed as I would hope you would be,” he said. “But let’s see if my hope holds out. For what reason do you wage this war? Did the High judges command you to invade Rerial and start burning down cities? I know how brutal you Court types are, but even this seems a stretch.”

  Commander Sefen bristled at this.

  “The high judges sent orders, yes,” he said. “But I am free to do as I please, now. The High Court is no more. I am now the leader of the Court of Three and can wage war as needed for the glory of our nation.”

  “Suppose it victory were not for the court,” Ferdinand replied. “But rather for you. What if you were free of the claim of the High Court and could wage war as you saw fit?”

  Commander Sefen raised an eyebrow. This was not a line of thinking he had considered, if not for the sole fact that the Court of Three was still the nation that was financing this war. And he needed funds to secure these troops.