20. N #2
He had been nearly deafened by the repeated sounds of the discharge in the confined space of the cave.
The last shot had sounded different, even to his ringing ears.
Much quieter, as though muffled—or, just possibly, as if the impact had broken through and allowed some of the noise to go elsewhere. He retrieved the mage-lights.
He waited a good long time for the rocks to cool before he scrambled up the rock slope, carrying a ’light for illumination.
At the top, he could see where the shots had smashed into the rocks.
He’d expected the slugs to melt through the rock, but the force had been more violent than he expected.
Here, the impacts had left sharp chips of stone, and little slag pieces of copper that cut into his hands and knees as he bent down to see the effects of his barrage.
The air had a sharp smell, and he coughed a bit and waved his hand back and forth to clear the rock dust that still swirled.
It settled after a few moments and he raised the light.
He could see a small tunnel blasted through the collapsed opening, right at the top, and along the natural cave ceiling, where the rock had been narrowest …
much like at the top of a pyramid. The tunnel he had blasted looked to be a bit more than knee-height.
He shoved the mage-light through, using the stave to push it along, so that he could inspect the hole he’d carved.
He saw the tunnel would be too narrow for him, and most certainly for the Probe.
A small child might be able to slip through, but not a full-grown elf male.
He extended his arm into the tunnel, holding the light as far as he could.
The mage-light, which had shown on the walls of the tunnel, just illuminated an irregular, oblong exit.
The light couldn’t quite reach the exit itself, but it did illuminate the rock around it.
He felt excitement grow as he pulled his mage-light back in and snuffed it out, along with his personal light.
He peered through the tunnel, trying to see into the other side.
It was certainly dark. Possibly night? He felt a wisp of cool air on his cheek and inhaled deeply.
A resinous conifer? Is that a conifer I smell?
While he couldn’t place the plant, he had no doubt of the fresh air and damp, foresty smell that came through the little tunnel he’d carved using the shot furnace.
Fresh air. And then, as he strained his eyes he saw faint glimmers. Stars.
He descended the rockface carefully, suddenly very aware of the risk of triggering another rockslide or taking a fall down the face.
When he got to the bottom, he rose and dusted off his cut hands.
He looked at the Probe. “Well, I did it. I have a way to store magic to use for later. I can use the furnace to carve a hole in the top, and with enough shots, I can make a hole big enough for you.”
He looked back up the slope. “Or for me.”
He picked a rock chip out of his palm, then watched as a dot of blood welled up on his dirty and abraded skin. “Or for me.”
He checked his inventory of storage jars and copper slugs.
He’d used up all of the shot and all but two of the jars.
He didn’t doubt that he’d been given jars that were nearly empty.
He’d had to change each jar after a shot or two.
He was wearily certain that the city’s defenders had fired dozens of shots before they had exhausted their stores.
He felt suddenly frustrated by the restraints placed on him …
both by the king, and by jealousies that kept him from receiving the support and respect that were his due.
He wanted to see what was on the other side of that fallen cave mouth, and he wanted to walk in a real forest again, without the fear of being devoured by a Predator.
He needed more shot and more storage jars to open the hole further and widen it so he could go and see for himself.
To see the sun in its glory, and not cast through the city’s shield.
Wait … I have the Kings Writ, and the city walls have Mecha with shot furnaces …
and will have extra storage jars, and extra copper shot.
He looked back up to where the tunnel started. “I can do this.” He felt elation and just a touch of wonder. Two emotions that he had not experienced for … decades. Far too long. “I can do this!”
He had no doubt whatsoever that even without ambient magic to call on, even without Machinas, he could carve himself out a fiefdom of sorts in this world.
The High Lord Provisioner, Pelias, might have expressed it first, but it was an idea grand enough to adopt as his own.
He smiled to himself. Considering what she cost me …
it would be poetic justice to figure out which of those great estates was Triana’s, and either take it over or take it away from whoever claims it now.
“Follow me,” he said tersely. The Probe trailed after him as he scrambled over the wreckage, the magelamp bobbing as he went as quickly as he dared.
So close. He really hadn’t expected to be so affected, but after years trapped in the city, with no stars, no light that hadn’t passed through a shield, and only the sterile smells of the city, the smell of good earth and growing things sparked a craving that he had not in the least expected.
The Probe, moving at its own pace, came up the ramp.
“Stay here,” Haldeen said. “Exactly here. I will be back in … a few minutes, with more magic jars and more copper spheres. You’ll carry them.”
Haldeen made the hand-passes needed to trigger the spell … the one Triana had blundered into all those long eight days before. He clenched his teeth, anticipating the nauseating and stretching feelings that went with transiting the Gate.
Once through, and back in his lab, he threw on his greatcoat, combed his thinning hair, and made a beeline for his office.
He walked as quickly as he dared, running when the hallways were clear, and sprinting up the stairs to the main courtyard, taking them two at a time, when he dared.
By the time he emerged into the morning sun, he could feel the prickle of sweat in his coat, and his side twinged as he panted.
He stopped for a few deep breaths and to gather his composure before the crossed inner courtyard.
He wanted to run, even though his lungs felt ill-used.
He stood still a few moments to let his beating heart slow, and his breathing return to normal. Two guards merged from around the corner. They stopped, taken aback at encountering their liege lord in such an expected manner.
Haldeen had an inspiration. Having soldiers behind him would lend credibility to what would be a bluff. “You two, come with me.” They looked surprised, but fell in quickly.
Haldeen, escorted by his two guards, crossed the open courtyard to his courtyard office, where he gathered up his King’s Commission, and other documents that looked impressive enough to add weight to any demands he might make.
He shoved them into a satchel, then dropped the greatcoat.
A quick change and face wash, and he was once again the Lord Technical …
and not the elf who’d been grubbing about in caves all night.
He swept back out of the room … working on what he would say, and feeling more confident with each step.
He kept a self-possessed air as he walked past the two guards, then summoned them into his wake with the flick of a casual finger.
Three more of his guards wandered into the courtyard as he led his little troop across the lawn.
It must be close to shift change, with this many this close to the guardhouse.
He called them over, and gathered them into his wake.
Five spears now. He stalked towards the steps that took him up to the city wall. Act like you own it.
He sprang up the steps two at the time, walking briskly towards the sheds where the Mecha were kept. A young underofficer stepped away from the tea stove where he had been warming his hands alongside the city guard who kept watch from this part of the wall.
The underofficer approached Haldeen. “Umm … sir … my lord ….”
Haldeen couldn’t have been more pleased. The underofficer looked young and inexperienced. Haldeen felt sure he could simply brush past him with a quick deployment of rank.
“King’s business,” he said briskly. He snapped his fingers to his guards.
“You two. That shed over there.” A finger pointed to the third.
“You, get two of the shiny clay boxes. The gray ones. Handle them carefully. And you two, you each get two of the flat panniers from that stack … three if you can carry them.”
He looked at the last two guards, weighing whether to keep them with him to bolster his gravitas or sending them to get more stored magic and copper projectiles.
Haldeen considered whether he could dragoon the underofficer’s soldiers to his purpose, then decided that would be too much of a risk.
I have one shot at this. Once the king hears, all hell will break loose.
He looked at the last two guards, his show of force.
“You … follow him. You get two more of the ceramic cases. And you … yes. You. Get as many of the flat boxes as you can carry. They’ll be heavy. They’re filled with copper spheres.”
The guards knuckled their brows, and went around the surprised underofficer. Haldeen smiled when the five broke into a trot. The lead elf shouldered past an elf who emerged from a shed. Haldeen nodded. The faster they moved, then the sooner this would be over.
The officer’s initial confusion started to give way. “Umm, sir?”
Haldeen knew he had to keep the momentum going, lest his own nerve start to fail.
He raised one eyebrow disdainfully. “Sir?”
He did his best to mimic the expressions and tones of the birth lords when something wasn’t up to scratch.
“Sir? Is that how you address your liege lord? The king’s own Lord Gatekeeper? How about, Your Eminence? I am a Lord of this city, on a direct commission from the king himself. Sir, indeed! What is your name, fellow?”
The underofficer stammered out something that Haldeen didn’t hear.
He played for time, hoping his guards would get the jars and copper shot and return.
He had the edge, a moment of surprise, but that would bleed away as the star rose in the sky.
The young elf’s resolve might steady, or another officer further along the wall would hear about the strange happenings and come to investigate.