I reined in my corruption. “That’s for cutting Clarissa. Never did get over that.”
“C-Clarissa? I apologized to her!”
“An involuntary one, and you probably should have asked forgiveness from me as well. Nevertheless, let’s try to pace ourselves next time. You obviously have a lot of potential, but it seems your limbs are pretty wild without a sword in your hands.”
Now standing, Alex said, “I told you I don’t need your advice.”
“That was more of an observation, but suit yourself.”
Alex turned around to walk through the murmuring crowd, who parted to let him pass.
The first to come up to me, Xavier said, “Fantastic! I’ve seen a few professional boxing matches in my day, and you guys make them look like they’re fighting underwater. I say we get you signed up boxers in a league. A few big bets and we’ll all get rich. Simple!”
“I won’t be against the idea if I ever need coin, or whatever you use to buy things.”
“Bank robbery will be more straightforward,” said Lucas.
“And so his bad influence spreads,” said Bregman.
“It’s all right, we won’t involve you in our get-rich-quick schemes.”
“Don’t involve yourself either, Mister Tassis,” said the doctor. “Too often does playful banter lead to regretful actions when it comes to money.”
“Er, yes, ma’am.”
“Now then, Mister Eberwolf, would you mind answering additional questions I’ve been contemplating? Preferably below deck?”
I agreed. First, since I was still not entirely comfortable without my armor, I went to put the scales back on. Seeing it as practical, I slipped the long-sleeved outfit over the armor. It stretched too much and tore in places, but my cloak covered up those imperfections.
Not long after answering the doctor’s questions, I headed back outside. The air began to thaw, but it remained cold enough to deter people from following. However, since someone needed to, Svren did. All the same, the krewen stayed unobtrusive on realizing I came out seeking tranquility.
Once I made several leisurely rounds around the top deck, Felicia popped out. A normal walking speed had her catching up to me. She asked, “Were you serious about helping me with the kids?”
“Aye.”
“Then come on. Isabel is already asking for me to take her place, but I’m not going back without reinforcements.”
Despite the insistence in her words, actually moving faster to get to the children was not either of our objectives, so it was an easy saunter back below decks. Not interested in associating with fledglings, Svren separated from us when we neared the destination.
The recreation door became the opposite of closed shortly after a knock. Isabel greeted her sister by saying, “Finally! What took you so long?”
“Oh, you know, I went shopping first, then got a bite to eat-”
“Yeah, yeah, just get in.”
All three children sat together on the largest couch, the boy being flanked by the girls. The smallest youngster had her head on the boy’s lap, though she wasn’t sleeping. The other girl, who looked to be in about the same age range as the eleven or twelve-year-old boy, had her head on his shoulder. All presented the red, puffy eyes of recently tearful faces.
“Why do you wanna switch already?” Felicia asked Isabel. “They’re a lot calmer than when I had them.”
“Exactly, I don’t see a point in watching them anymore. Now you get an easier shift. It’s like a gift. What’s Mercer doing here?”
“He offered to help me look after the kids.”
“Oh. You like kids, Mercer?”
“Not especially, but it’s something to do. What are their names?”
“Sebastian is the boy, Allison is the older girl, and Yvonne is the youngest one. Maya had to tell us their names. They were not very talky in the beginning.”
“I can imagine. What do they say when they do talk?”
“It’s mostly the boy, and mostly to cuss us out. What’s more annoying than that is how he forces the girls not to eat or drink anything. He’s got them convinced we contaminated the food and water with poison or truth serum or something. And we can’t separate any of them without all three going berserk.”
“Truth serum? As in a drink that obliges people to tell the truth? Is such a liquid real here?”
“If it’s real, we haven’t got it or used it,” answered Felicia. “Is it real in Orda?”
“I’m not sure. I think there are always potion makers who claim to have created one, but I can’t say whether anyone treats them seriously.” I divulged a dragon stone. “Anyway, let’s see what I can do.”
I stepped nearer the children, who had all been staring at us with stern trepidation during the whole conversation. Yvonne slowly and weakly sat up. Sebastian was opening his mouth to say something as I got on one knee, but that’s when I ignited the stone’s rune. I permitted for the heat to wash over us all. Unprepared for the flickering warmth, the children flinched. However, they relaxed when understanding the heat felt good on frail bodies so susceptible to the cold. They watched as rock gave way fully to fire.
“Do you want to see a neat technique I can do?”
Without waiting for an answer, I vented my darkness into the flame. The children flinched again when a novel flame of black replaced the bright orange one. As usual, my inadequate mastery of the exceptional power meant some of the thermal pulses caused our faces to wince. Nevertheless, as even I had yet to tire of seeing a black flame’s dance, everyone gazed at the heated demonstration for a few reticent moments.
The first to get her eyes to gaze past the flame, Yvonne met my eyes and said, “Y-you’re the dragon man.”
“That’s right. You all rode my dragon partner. His name is Aranath. This is his flame, which I’ve corrupted with the power of a ghoul. That’s why it’s black.”
“You’re a ghoul?” asked Allison.
“Aye. So is my brother. He’s even more of a ghoul than I.”
“You’re not a ghoul,” said Sebastian. “We help them. They wouldn’t hurt us.”
“You’re partly correct. Rather than consider myself a true ghoul, I prefer to say that I wield their power. In any case, if I brought a random ghoul into this room, I very much doubt they would refuse to hurt you. A few may have enough shrewd thoughts in their heads to make deals with those who fear them, but most will merely see you as something to consume or corrupt.”
“We’re not scared of ghouls!”
The dark flames billowed and twisted upward, getting the kids to recoil. Returning the flame to a mellower state, I said, “Strange, you seem scared of me, yet I’m only partly a ghoul. Tell me, young ones, is it braver to fight monsters or to join them?”
“It’s, it’s dumber,” said Allison, the swiftness and tone of her words implying a conditioned answer. “It’s dumb to fight them. It’s smart to join them. We’ll live and everyone else won’t.”
“Hmm, if it’s smarter to make deals with those stronger and scarier than you, then you three should be making a deal with the Vanguard and me, no?” I snuffed out my flame. “Very well, I’m ready to make a deal.”
“What did you do, Allison?!” said Yvonne.
“I didn’t do anything! I’m not making a deal!”
“Nope, too late,” I said. “You said it’s smart to make a deal with monsters, and right now I’m a monster to you, right? So let’s get this over with.”
“No one say anything!” said Sebastian. “He’s trying to t-trick us!”
“Ah, so you’re not as easily deceived as your parents. Odd that adult turncoats would be dumber than their children.”
“They’re not dumb!”
“That’s not what I saw. I saw them all trapped by us. We tied them up, right? And they’re not going to see us coming when we go back. Sounds pretty dumb to me. I’m surprised they can cook their own food. Can they even read or write?”
“Shut up! My daddy is smart! H
e’s building a big underwater ship!”
“Sebastian, you dumb idiot!” said Allison, punching his shoulder. “You just said not to say anything!”
Sebastian groaned and buried his head in his hands. Yvonne appeared to still be catching up on what exactly happened.
I stood up. To the twins, I asked, “Underwater ships?”
“He must mean a submarine,” replied Felicia. “Not exactly graceful machines. Lots of accidents. From what I’ve heard, I’d rather be on a falling airship than a working sub.”
“Wait, won’t that mean there’s a lake or something under the Ruts?” wondered Isabel.
“A submarine can’t do anything in an underground lake. There has to be some kind of underwater cave system leading to the ocean. Maybe they even made one.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But how would they even get the materials and expertise to build a submarine?”
“Someone with cash is backing them, and they probably get some stuff from their lawless neighbors. However they’re doing it, we need to go tell the major what we learned. Well, you need to go tell the major what we learned.”
“Me? Oh, all right… Unless you think you can trick more information out of them, Mercer?”
Glancing at the boy, who mumbled and sniveled angrily into his hands, I said, “Unlikely. They’ll really be on their guard now.”
“Well, just in case, I’ll be back.”
After the door clanked back shut, Felicia asked me, “Do you have experience interrogating children?”
“No. I simply assumed getting tired, hungry youngsters emotional might reveal something. I got lucky.”
“Bastard f-fuck!” said Allison.
I regarded her without any severe expression on my face, but that still got the child to drop her head and tuck her legs deeper under herself. Meanwhile, Yvonne was trying to comfort Sebastian by whispering something in his ear and patting his arm.
I sat on a wooden chair with a red cushion. Felicia sat on a leather chair opposite me and closer to the children. Here we reposed as the youths settled down over the next few minutes.
“This room looks barer than last time,” I said.
“Yeah, most of the games and music has been moved to the sleeping quarters. Can’t have these little turncoats smashing our toys out of spite. Did you want to play a game or something to pass the time?”
“Maybe later… If the kids can’t wreck anything important, then why watch them from inside the room?”
“We’re trying to get them to eat and drink something. Besides, you never know what to expect from turncoats, even kids. A few have been known to try to hurt themselves or others after they’ve been captured. These seem a bit too young to go through with something like that, but it’d be pretty dumb to leave the possibility open, don’t you think?”
“Aye. Will the major order for people other than you and your sister to watch over the kids?”
“At some point he’ll have to. No way Felicia and I babysit alone until the next port stop.”
“We’re not babies!” said Sebastian.
“Shut up!” said Allison. “You don’t talk anymore.”
The boy mumbled something.
“What was that?!”
“Nothing!”
“Stop fighting!” cried Yvonne.
With their energy reserves low, the children quickly calmed down again. The Vanguard and I did not wish to break the peace, so we each stayed silent as well. It proved difficult not to merely stare at Felicia for too long, so I shut my eyes and meditated on phantom casting, or the art of manipulating one’s prana without actually going through with the spell.
Although my flame had not been active long, it nevertheless baked the enclosed air to a temperature that, while not exactly warm, made it easier to retain the warmth we emanated. Eventually, my meditative training turned into a game of trying not to let my head hang and drift off to sleep. Not that sleeping was a bad thing, but I figured it was better not to give Felicia the impression I was forcing her do all the watching. Of course, with my eyes closed, I needed to signal in another way that I wasn’t sleeping, so I occasionally fidgeted a leg or arm.
The creaking metal door swinging open was the result of Isabel returning. That got the kids writhing, who were getting far too weary to fight true sleep.
“Got anything more from them?” Isabel asked us.
“No,” answered her sister. “What’d the major say?”
“He’s intrigued. We went to talk to Maya about it, but she claims not to know anything about a submarine. Of course, being fairly new to the group, she wasn’t allowed to freely roam wherever she wanted. She did hear about some turncoats experimenting with engines, batteries, and the like, but she wasn’t even sure whether those projects were happening in the Ruts or somewhere else.”
“Great, of all the people you could have taken, you take one that wasn’t allowed to learn anything definite.”
“You can take whoever you want whenever you come with us,” I said.
“We may get that chance soon,” said Isabel. “I could tell the major was really thinking hard about a full-on assault. If there is a freaking submarine being built down there, then I bet he would love to find out who’s doing the building and where they’re getting the resources to do it before they can escape or destroy the evidence.”
“Anything is better than this,” said Felicia.
“Nonsense. Look how adorable the kids look now that they’re sleeping. You’re lucky, I’m probably gonna come back to them full of aggressive energy again. If anything, you should be helping me during my watch, Mercer.”
“I can help you both. That will only be fair.”
“Excellent, then I’ll see you later!”
Chapter Eighteen
A couple of hours since joining Felicia in her watch, who napped for half that time and clarified what different Dretkeshna terms meant for the other half, Bregman instructed me to see the major. I followed him to Eric’s room.
“What can my dragon and I do for you?” I asked the major.
“Burrow through a mountain. Do dragons know how to dig, magic or not?”
“From what I’ve been told, most dragon species don’t have an instinct for it. Still, I hear there are some wingless ones that make their homes underground, just as there are those who live underwater or slither their whole lives on the ground or in trees. Those don’t exactly sound like dragons to me, but Aranath counts them as such.”
“I see. Well, if he can’t dig, then we’ll have to settle for his wings. I’m planning on throwing everything we can on the turncoats. It simply won’t do to allow them to construct a weapon that can sink our ships or let them travel anywhere along the coastline in secret. I’m confident we can overwhelm them if your dragon can get my entire team near the entrance. We’ll head ashore by boat in the evening. From there I want you to fly as many of us as you can near the entrance. I know the saddle can’t hold us all, but I’m thinking some rope tied between us will prove secure enough for a short trip.”
“That should be fine.”
“Good. It hopefully won’t take more than two trips to get everyone together. Maya says the entrance is normally blocked by a boulder. It’s well hidden among the rugged terrain, so she’ll have to come and show us where exactly it lies. She’ll also have to tell us which tunnels lead where once we’re inside.”
“We’re relying too much on the words of strangers,” said Bregman. “What kind of Vanguards trust the words of turncoats, their children, and ghouls?”
“The kind who wish to get anywhere. Compose yourself, master sergeant. No civilians will be in danger, something we can’t count on if we allow these turncoats to escape us. Besides, as the Vanguard founder once said, the worst that can happen is joining the happy dead a little sooner.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where was I? Right, once we locate the entrance and remove the boulder, Aranath will blast away whatever defenders and defenses are in the
tunnel, but his goal should not be to collapse the passage as before. Can his flame avoid the outcome?”
“I suspect it can. Still, if the tunnel is too narrow in places, it may be unavoidable.”
“A little rubble shouldn’t be too difficult to handle. Maya says the tunnel entrance is about a hundred feet long and will likely have a Gatling gun or two defending it.”
“A what?”
“A Gatling gun. Large, mounted guns that can fire hundreds of rounds a minute. It will do more than annoy your dragon if they can fire it in time.”
“Ah, how… troublesome… Well, as far as I know, bullets can’t go anywhere but straight, right? I’ll simply have Aranath breathe his fire near the entrance and I’ll direct the flame inside. Neither of us will have to directly expose ourselves until we believe we’ve cleared the way. I won’t have much prana afterward, but most of the fighting done inside the mountain will be left up to you and your men, anyway.”
“True. From there it will become a more conventional battle. On the other hand, your brother’s unconventional spell can still come in handy. I hear he’s been gruffer than usual since your sparring match earlier. Will his head be right during the operation?”
“That’s probably when his head will be the most right.”
“Make certain it is. Bregman, inform the others to get their rest outside of their essential duties.”
“Yes, sir.”
I left to find my brother. It took asking around the sleeping quarters and halls to track Alex’s last known location. I first noticed Xavier when I stepped outside. He stood leaning on a railing looking up at the stern’s gun turret, his sight set on Alex, who sat on the turret.
“How’s he doing?” I asked Xavier.
“As fine as a petulant boy can be. Someone from the crew gave him some lip after we walked out the mess hall. Next thing I know, Hector got slammed against the wall. Got my gun out, but your brother had already let go and made his way up here. Wanted to be as alone as he could be, I guess.”
The Dragon Knight and the Steam World Page 22
