The officer cleared his throat again. He seemed rather nervous. “Umm… Anyway, where were we. Yes, what happens when the powers of magic and science meet. Now, I hope that you’ll keep your fleet and dragons away from my base. You may not believe it right now, but I have the technology and knowhow to fell them in one sweep. You don’t know the jungle like I do. I’ve been building this operation for long before any of you have known me. Yes, that includes you General Sako. And this land has taken many men before you. Don’t make the same mistake they did.”
Candiorno paused a moment. He seemed to be putting quite an act into his reading, which he carried out in a remarkably convincing voice of an old man, even though he’d probably never met Captain Colas himself. Although I hadn’t either, I’d just heard from some of the older officers here, and of course Faso, that the man was getting on a bit. Past ninety, some said, although no one in all honesty seemed to know his true age.
“Now as for you, Miss Wells. And your escorts, who expect will be Faso Gordoni, and someone else. You can meet me at Pinnatu Crater.” Indeed, I then realized that the flag was placed at the crater of a volcano. “Come up to the rim. I’ll be waiting for you at the peak. Oh, and you have quite a climb ahead of you, so make sure to pack plenty of water. And don’t take your dragon up there, because I’ll shoot him down if he comes anywhere nearby. It will remain safe at Figgaro Port, where you shall land.”
Faso took a retractable pointer out of his pocket and used it to point at the easternmost outpost for the benefit of everyone involved.
Meanwhile, Candiorno paused again as everyone turned around to look at Velos. The dragon was fast asleep on the deck behind us now. I just hoped that if there was some kind of beast in the jungle that it wasn’t dangerous to Velos as well.
“And I warn you,” Candiorno continued. “If you disobey any of these instructions then I shall destroy you all, starting with your entire fleet. Be warned that I have much, much more up my sleeve than you’ve ever thought capable. Faso Gordoni, if you’re hearing this, then know your technology pales in comparison.”
And beside me Faso clenched his fist, which was resting on the table. Ratter emerged from his sleeve and started to let out a hiss, causing one of the officers to look over at the automaton in alarm. It seemed almost as if Faso had programmed Ratter to mirror his emotions. Goodness knows why.
“Gordoni,” General Sako said. “You better keep that infernal automaton away from this mission. We have enough up our plates to not want to have to worry about an errant mechanical ferret.”
“I’m sorry,” Faso said. And he tapped Ratter on the back a few times and Ratter ran back up the inventor’s sleeve.
General Sako nodded. “Carry on Candiorno.”
“It doesn’t say much else, sir. Just, ‘Don’t worry, Dragonseer Wells. I have a proposition for you that I’m sure you’ll find quite attractive. And, of course, Taka is quite safe. Much, much safer, I assure than when that fool King Cini was looking after him.’”
I clenched my teeth. What could the man possibly want from me?
General Sako stood up and he looked absolutely furious again. “I’ve had enough of that buffoons empty threats. Yes, he might have more silver in his airship linings than any other man on this world, but he’s bluffing. He hasn’t got any power behind him at all.”
“But he saw the storm coming,” Faso said. “And none of your equipment on board did. Which means he probably has quite capable technology and I can imagine some dangerous automatons. I honestly wish, by the way, I’d tested your meteorological technology myself. I’m sure we could have avoided the storm entirely had everything been set up correctly. But as for Captain Colas, we don’t know yet what he’s capable of. And so we’re best doing as he says until we learn what he has in his arsenal.”
“But you’re putting the ball in his court that way,” General Sako said.
I decided it was time to butt in myself. “General,” I said. “This is what we discussed with Gerhaun, and with all due respect this is what we’re going to do. But we’re not going to hike all the way up to the crater. That’s just a ridiculous demand. Velos can come up with us.”
“But Pontopa,” Faso said. “He might be able to shoot us down.”
“You designed the armour. And I believe you said that it was the best technology around.”
“Of course,” Faso scratched at the back of his neck, his eyes affixed on the flag on the table. “Well, I guess that makes a lot of sense. Scout ahead before we decide what to do next. I can set Ratter to climb the mountain ahead of time and come back tell us what he finds.”
“And what if Colas seizes him. We’ll see more from the air than we possibly can on the ground.”
“Not through tree cover,” Faso said, a smug expression on his face.
“From what I can see from this map, the volcano rises above the tree cover.”
“Well,” General Sako said, cupping his fist in his hand. “I guess we’re ready to get this mission underway.”
“Good,” Faso stood up. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to some important stuff. Winda?”
Asinal Winda turned to him with wide astonished eyes. From the expression on her face, it looked as if they might have had some kind of argument. Which would partly explain Faso’s mood. “Yes, Mr Gordoni.”
“I’m going to need your help refuelling the armour. It’s about time I taught you how it all works.”
And he stormed back into the quarterdeck cabin, the tail on his suit swaying in the breeze behind him. This time no one stopped him from going. I turned to General Sako.
“I guess this meeting is adjourned?”
And he didn’t even turn to look at me. Instead he had his narrow gaze affixed on the door of the quarterdeck cabin as if he wanted to kill the inventor who had just stepped through it.
“General…” I said.
“Yes, yes, of course. Meeting adjourned.” General Sako twitched his moustache. “Blunders and dragonheats, that boy needs to learn some manners. Don’t you think Dragonseer Wells?”
I smiled. “One day, we’ll all learn to live with him,” I said. “Now, if you excuse me, I probably better also be checking Velos is ready to go.”
General Sako nodded, but didn’t say anything else. I nodded back to him and then I walked over to Velos who was now fast asleep on one side of the quarterdeck.
And, just for the sake of it, I sang him a soft, reassuring song.
12
We arrived at Paradise Reef several hours later. Apparently, the currents had become even more favourable, whisking us off at speed to our required destination. I guessed from what I’d learned about Captain Colas so far, that he’d also claim these currents were his doing. In other words, that he’d want us to meet him as soon as possible.
The waters beneath us had changed in colour from deep blue to a pretty turquoise hue. When I looked over the deck railing, I could see all kinds of colourful fish swimming underneath. If I was a diver and had time, I’d gladly plunge under the surface and start exploring. But we had work to do.
Velos was wide awake on the quarterdeck now, resplendent in his brass coat. Once I used to find the dragon armour ugly, but now I secretly thought it suited him quite well. Partly this was due to the way he carried himself in it. Whenever he noticed people observing him, he’d keep his head up high, as if posing for photograph.
On either side of the armour, two soft tanks of secicao suffused the metallic surface in a faint green glow. Secicao – though it was destroying the planet, we all still relied on the stuff, including Gerhaun’s military who augmented using secicao oil so they could fight to stop the plant spreading across the world.
And I guessed that even though Faso claimed secicao power was his own invention, many of Colas’ machines would also be using it. The crow automatons that had delivered the old man’s messages certainly had. But still, I was confident that whatever he threw at us, my abilities as a dragonseer, Velos’ sharp
instinct, and Faso’s technology would prevail overall.
Faso and Wiggea had already taken their positions at the back and middle seat. Which meant that it wasn’t the best idea to scramble up Velos’ tail as I’d have to then climb over both men to take my usual position. So, I climbed the ladder instead, and sat in place just behind Velos’ steering fin. General Sako, Admiral Sandao, and several of the officers stood below watching us get ready. Once I’d mounted and harnessed myself in place, General Sako approached and stopped just beside the ladder. Meanwhile, Admiral Sandao hovered casually in the background. Given we were technically on a navy operation, seeing us off should have been the admiral’s job. But the meek and well-mannered man didn’t seem to mind General Sako taking control.
In his hands, the general held a clipboard, presumably with a checklist on it. He looked down at it and then cupped his hands to his mouth and hollered up to us. “Secicao flasks ready?” he shouted.
I checked that the hip flask was on my belt and I heard Wiggea and Faso jangle theirs behind me. “Check,” Wiggea and I shouted back. But I don’t think Faso said anything.
General Sako ticked an item off the list and then looked back up at us. “Weapons equipped?”
I reached down and felt the handles of the knives in my garters first. Then, I made sure that the pistol was secure on my hip and the Pattersoni rifle was in place on my back. “Check,” I called back.
“Good,” General Sako said and ticked another item off the list. “Equipment working?”
This call was for Faso and I saw him glance down at the spigot, but otherwise make no movements.
“Gordoni, answer me, boy,” Sako shouted, his face red. “We do these checks for a reason.”
Faso shook his head. “Of course the equipment’s bloody working. What do you take me for?”
“Good, good.” And General Sako swept his pen across the piece of paper once again.
“Are you all in fit condition and ready to fly?”
“Affirmative, sir,” Wiggea and I said in unison. We looked at each other and smiled. Honestly, given I ranked the same as General Sako, I didn’t have to call him sir. But I saw it all as part of a little game. As long as he wasn’t going to do anything stupid, I was happy to at least pretend to cede power to Sukina’s father sometimes. He was older than me after all.
General Sako looked up at Faso. “Gordoni, boy?” he bawled.
“What do you think?” Faso replied.
“Just answer the question, for wellies sake.”
“Fine, I’m just as good as I was as when you saw me on the ground a moment ago.”
The general nodded, placed another tick on his piece of paper, and then put his pen in his breast pocket.
“Very well,” the general said. “Then permission to take off.” He turned around and bellowed out at the top of his voice to the soldiers and sailors that stood behind him. “Clear the decks!”
Of course, this was pointless as Velos already had ample space surrounding him to launch. No one was close enough to get crushed by a rogue wing or stray claw. But General Sako was just one of those men who enjoyed his job too much. I understood this, mind. He’d lost his wife and only daughter and now had nothing left but his job. So, I personally tolerated his pompous behaviour.
I saluted, then pulled back on Velos’ steering fin and launched him into the air. Just as his feet had barely left the ground, he gnashed his teeth and let out an ear-splitting roar yet playful roar. I guess he was also in the mood for a little stage play.
I clasped my hands over my ears. “Dragonheats, control yourself Velos,” I said. I still had a sore head from when I’d hit it during the storm.
And from beneath me, a rumble trilled through Velos’ body, almost as if he was laughing.
“I’ll remember that. Next time you have a sore head.” And I sang out a staccato song as if it to admonish him. But I didn’t make the notes too harsh so he’d realise I was joking around too.
Velos crooned in response. And we were soon away from the ship and sailing gently over a stunning expanse of turquoise blue.
It took us another hour before we hit the jungle proper. We sighted silver sandy beaches in the distance overshadowed by swaying palm trees, a kind of tropical paradise that I wondered why no one came here on holiday. I was sweating profusely by this point due to the heat from the sun and the humidity. It was much, much hotter here than it was in the Southlands and back in Tow. In those places, it seemed the world was getting colder – an environmental effect due to the spread of secicao and increased cloud cover. But here, you really wouldn’t have noticed.
The air smelled of something different as well, of dust or burnt soil. Perhaps I could smell the ash from volcanic eruptions ages past. I’d honestly never been to a place like this before.
It wasn’t long after that we caught sight of the Pinnatu volcano. A ring of cumulus clouds was haloed around it, making quite an impressive site. The mountain was a few thousand metres in height, and so wasn’t high enough to be snow-capped. But still it created quite a picture, the towering beast of this land displaying its majesty over the pitiful, yet still beautiful, jungle below.
“That’s our destination, I guess?” I called back to Wiggea and Faso.
“I don’t see any other volcanoes around here,” Faso said. “And before you ask, yes, it’s dormant. The whole continent of Cadigan hasn’t seen an active volcano in the last two-million years.”
I sneered at Faso. I’d never liked smart-arses. But admittedly, I hadn’t actually known that there wasn’t any active volcanic activity in this part of the world. There wasn’t much in the Southlands either, come to think of it.
But then, it wasn’t as if we’d studied any of this in school. Everything was all about Tow and the Sovereign States to the east of Tow that the king claimed jurisdiction over.
We had just passed over a pristine silver beach. The volcano seemed to increase in height as we got ever closer to it. I could faintly see a hut at the top and I wondered if that was where Colas was holding Taka. It stood there alone, and I couldn’t imagine there was much in terms of defences there at all. Perhaps we should send Ratter back to advise Sako and Sandao to deploy their marines and commandos after all.
“No,” I thought. “This old man probably has a few tricks up his sleeve.”
And I would have thought after that terrible storm, we would have seen the last of bad weather in this area for a while. But that cloud that we saw around the mountain first turned grey, and then sped towards us. The next thing we knew, we were entangled in a cloying fog, with an increasing humidity that made me actually want it to rain.
“I guess this is Colas’ doing too,” I said with a little mirth in my voice.
“If he can truly control the weather, Maam,” Lieutenant Wiggea said from behind me. “Then perhaps.” His voice was so dry that I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or going along with my little joke. He kind of reminded me of Charth in a way, although a little more optimistic and less of a rogue.
Speaking of Charth. I’d completely forgotten about him and hoped that he was back in The Southlands keeping an eye on Alsie. That was when, much to my chagrin, I heard him speak all of a sudden in the collective unconscious.
“Why, hello there,” he said. There was now a certain playfulness in his tone which didn’t seem characteristic of the Charth I’d met a couple of years ago at all.
“Charth? I thought you said you’d stay at home. You promised…”
“I told you I didn’t make promises anymore…”
“What is this, child’s play?”
“You asked me to follow Alsie, didn’t you? Find out what she’s up to. You know, if you’d ventured a couple of hundred kilometres northeast of here, you would have run into her yourself.”
“What?” I said. “What the dragonheats does she want from us?”
“I didn’t dare get close enough to ask her. I kept so far away that they probably only thought me a seagull. B
ut I thought you might want to know.”
I sighed. “Charth, you know what Colas said. If there’s any more than three in our party he’d shoot us down. You shouldn’t be here.” But I didn’t tell Charth that we were also going directly against the old man’s instructions by not parking Velos in the port.
“That’s why I’m not going to accompany you. I’m going to make my way in alone. I have my own objectives, and getting Taka out, I’m sorry to say is secondary.”
“What are you up to Charth?”
“I only came to relay the information about Alsie. Be careful, Dragonseer Wells, she has a play in this and I’m not sure quite what it is.”
“At least I know she’s not planning to invade Fortress Gerhaun.”
“That was a given. Well, take care of yourself, and maybe I’ll see you inside.”
“Inside what?” I asked.
But Charth didn’t respond, keeping his usual habit of being entirely mysterious. I caught sight of his black dragon form briefly passing through the fog. I hoped at least I could work out where he was heading. But he shortly disconnected from the collective unconscious and then the cloud cover was too thick to see him anymore. Even the canopy below us was now completely concealed. Although still, there was no sign of rain.
We continued onwards, Faso holding a compass at the back seat so he could correct me if I ventured Velos off course. We were still above the jungle and, as far as I was aware, as the land beneath us hadn’t started climbing yet. I decided to push as close as possible to the canopy, though, so at least I could see something. And I used our distance from the massive umbrella shaped rubbery leaves below us to help keep us on course.
After a while, I noticed something strange coming from the jungle layer. There was a dot of red light that seemed to be following us, resting just next to my left foot. I tried to see through the canopy to make out where it was coming from and I caught a glimpse, just for a moment, something unnatural there made of metal. Then, the leaves rustled, and whatever it was scuttled off.
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