Dragonseers and Airships

by Chris Behrsin

  I turned to Wiggea and nodded. He stepped inside, scanning around for dangers. None of us dared take the rifles off our back, in case more magnets would rip them out of our hands. Fortunately, though we still had our hip flasks, since they were made of gold with not a trace of magnetic metal inside them.

  As soon as we were inside, the doors slid shut. There came a hissing sound from the top of the room, and I looked up to see green gas spouting out of tiny vents at the top.

  “Dragonheats,” I said. “Another trap.”

  Faso looked up in alarm and immediately entered a crouch. “Get low,” he ordered. Then he placed Ratter down on the ground and tapped ten times on the automaton’s back.

  Ratter scurried across the room, sniffing around the corners, presumably looking for a weakness. He examined the door and tried to climb up it with his short stubby legs. But every time he managed to get one of its six feet on the walls, he ended up sliding down it.

  “Colas must have greased the thing,” Faso said.

  While Wiggea and I crouched watching him, Faso kept down low and went over to examine a hatch on the far door. But he had to stand up open it, which he managed quite easily. Inside, there was a complex arrangement of wires.

  “Can you open it?” I asked. I was beginning to feel a little lightheaded.

  “I don’t know,” Faso said. “Give me a moment. It’s a little complicated.” His voice had started to quaver and slur a little bit. Standing up there, he’d be getting a higher dosage of the gas than Wiggea and I on the ground.

  “Hurry up,” I said. “We’ve not got much time.”

  “I know… Let me… Wait, this one.”

  He pulled out a wire and turned to us his eyes wide. Then, he keeled over and collapsed on the floor.

  “Ho, ho, ho, Faso Gordoni,” the voice came again this time from somewhere above us. “Your genius is no good if you can’t keep control of your constitution. Now, Dragonseer, you’ve got no brilliant mind left who can get you out of this tricky situation. What are you going to do?”

  Wiggea was now standing up, banging at the far door. He kicked at it with his might. But the thing didn’t budge. And it was no good because soon enough, my eyelids felt heavy and I lost consciousness.

  When I woke up, I was lying down on a long sofa, facing towards its woven rattan back, which had depictions of panthers visible in the pattern work. I turned over on to my other side and then sat up to see an old man staring at me.

  He wore thick glasses, and he was hunched over a wooden cane. On his head, he sported a tall top hat, and a tweed sports jacket hung loosely off his shoulders. He had deep wrinkles on his face, and he looked as if he should be teetering on the edge of death. But somehow, he also displayed a spry sense of animosity.

  “Ah, welcome back to the real world, Dragonseer Wells. I didn’t expect you to be the last to wake up of everyone. With your dragonseer blood, I expected you to be the hardiest of the three. Mind you, I can’t blame you. You’re probably absolutely exhausted after wrestling my panthers.”

  I heard a muffling sound from my right and turned to see Faso and Wiggea squirming in bounds, a cloth gag over their mouth. They were both tied around the waist to a stake that extended from a single four-wheeled wooden trolley. It was Faso making the absolute racket, of course, Wiggea stayed stock still and stared straight ahead.

  Still, the lieutenant’s fists were clenched tight by his side and the glare in his eyes displayed his anger. Both men had been tied so well that they couldn’t move their heads. They had a rope around their foreheads, a rope around their chin, and another around their necks. On closer inspection, I noticed their gags were also tied into the stake. Wiggea looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. The whites of the eyes were bloodshot and there was a smattering of blood on his left cheek.

  In front of Faso, Ratter lay sprawled out on the floor, flattened out by silver pins in each of its six feet. The thing looked like a rodent that had been sliced across the stomach and spread out for display in an anatomy museum, after being covered in gold paint.

  “Colas, I presume…” I said. “What have you done to them?”

  A growl came from behind Colas and another panther stalked out from behind him. This time, the automaton had a purple sheen to it underneath the green glow coming from its veins. I really didn’t understand the purpose of these second colours. Perhaps they told of special abilities. But in all honesty, I didn’t feel like asking.

  “Oh, stop complaining, woman,” Colas said. “All I hear is moan, moan, moan, moan, moan.”

  I clenched my fists hard. I wanted to wrestle down that panther and then go for this old man’s throat. Instinctively, I felt at my hip. But there was no hip flask there I could use to augment. No rifle on my back either. And I already knew what had happened to my daggers and pistol.

  We were on some kind of wooden deck, which seemed to sway slightly in mid-air. Around it ran a brass railing, reflecting the glow of what looked like firelight… Or lava… Indeed, this place smelled of rotten eggs and felt hot as hell, and I felt the clamminess clinging to my skin. Red light danced on the rubbery membrane that stretched out over the crater hole high above us. Ropes led up from the deck to the membrane, extending to its very edges at quite shallow angles. Colas stood next to a wooden staircase leading below the deck.

  I regarded the panther as I stood up, slowly, and then I walked over to the railing. The automaton lowered itself on its haunches and growled at me. If I took any false steps, the thing would be upon me immediately. Colas watched me approach the edge.

  “I hope you’re not thinking of jumping, Dragonseer Wells, for its a long way down.”

  I glared at him and then touched the brass railing. Pain seared into my finger and I retracted my hand immediately. Dragonheats, the thing was hot. Far below, a pit of lava boiled and roared. Higher up a spaghetti network of cart tracks ran across the pit, arranged one over the other in no particular pattern. I couldn’t see at what height they started, or how far down they went.

  Around the inner walls of the craters, what looked like thousands of automatons on caterpillar tracks were working away at the walls with attached pickaxes. Panther automatons also stalked between them, as if supervising. It appeared that the old man had been mining here. Although for what, I had no idea.

  I spun on Colas, who had an annoying rictus stretched out across his face that I wanted to thump off.

  “What have you done with Taka, Colas? Untie my friends, give back the boy, then we can end this nonsense.”

  Colas let out a loud laugh. “Oh dear, oh dear. You’re much more like Sukina than I’d expected. So headstrong. Making demands, even when you know that the ball is in my court. Let me tell you instead what we shall do.”

  I clenched my teeth. “I shall bend to none of your wishes.”

  To which Colas smiled. “We’ll see about that.” He turned his head so he could holler down the staircase. “Yarand,” he called down. “Where are you when I need you?”

  I heard a shuffling from beneath me, and the airship rocked a little. A massive man emerged at the top of the staircase. He had a long ginger beard, a bald head, and muscles so big that he looked like he could carry oil barrels for a living. He wore a white vest, stained green with what looked like secicao oil. “Captain?” he asked.

  “Release the trolley.”

  My jaw dropped. “What the dragonheats are you planning, Colas?”

  But the old man didn’t reply. Meanwhile, the man he’d called Yarand strolled over to where Faso and Wiggea stood and he proceeded to turn a crank handle that jutted out from the floor between the two men. A square section around the trolley sank slowly beneath the deck, suspended by a rope from the centre.

  I yelped out and lurched towards them. The panther automaton sprang forward and blocked my path and bared its teeth at me. A spire sprung out of its open mouth and glowed white for a moment, before dying down.

  “Oh, I don’t want you jumping on the platform
too, Dragonseer,” Colas said. “You, Finesia, and I all know already that your destiny lies elsewhere.”

  But I wasn’t interested right now. I just couldn’t help myself watching the abject terror in Wiggea’s and Faso’s eyes and Yarand continuing to turn the crank handle until the three of them vanished below the platform. “What have they ever done to you?” I said to the old man.

  Colas shook his head. “Haven’t you ever heard of collateral? The lives of your two comrades can make this world a better place. But don’t worry, I won’t kill them. So long as you do exactly what I say.”

  Tears flooded to my eyes. No, this couldn’t be happening. Wiggea… Faso. I cared about them both in different ways. But I looked down into the glowing eyes of the panther automaton and I didn’t fancy my chances wrestling this one after nearly having my neck snapped off by the previous two.

  I needed to think of a plan and act fast. “What do you want Colas?” I asked.

  Colas glared at me. “Your obedience, for starters.” He hobbled forward and opened a thin steel case protruding out of the railing, next to the hole where Faso and Wiggea had previously stood. Inside there was a lever. The old man placed his hand over the handle of this and then turned his head to his lackey. “Now, Yarand. Release the latch.” He then turned back to me. “Why not come over for the show, dragonseer?”

  I stepped towards him, hoping that I could throw him off the deck. But the panther once again blocked my way.

  “No, dear, not that way. I need you where you can’t put my life in danger.”

  The panther nudged me towards the other side of the hole, away from Colas. I sighed and allowed the panther to push me to the opposite railing. Below me, the section that had split off from this platform now lay at a point on the cart tracks. I could see Yarand crouched on the floor, a crowbar in hand, which he’d stuck underneath the trolley that Faso and Wiggea were attached to.

  “Hurry up, Yarand,” Colas said. “We haven’t got all day.”

  The burly man looked up sharply as if irritated. Then he pushed down hard on the crowbar. With an almighty creak, the trolley detached from Yarand’s platform and trundled away. The momentum sent both Faso and Wiggea downwards. And I watched in horror as the cart sped down the network of tracks towards the magma pit. Soon, it slowed a little and turned onto a trail that ended in a drop down into the abyss.

  “No!”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Colas said. “Their life isn’t over yet. You see, this is the fun part.”

  The trolley sped up for a moment as the track angled even more sharply downwards. It then reached the end of the line, and it fell off the edge. My breath caught in my throat.

  But, instead of falling into the pit, the trolley all of a sudden was caught by the rope it hung from. It stopped with a jerk, which consequently sent Faso’s and Wiggea’s stakes tumbling off the edge of the trolley. Two more ropes caught them, leaving them hanging individually from a wooden beam which in turn hung from the tracks above. There they swung as the lava raged beneath them.

  On the bottom of the beam they were suspended from, I noticed something glinting in the light. “Why don’t you take a closer look?” Colas said, and he pushed a red button just next to the lever he was holding.

  I jumped back as a short pole jumped out of the railing just in front of me and hit me on the bridge of the nose. A small section of this sprung out towards me, scraping against my chin. I now had a telescope in front of me that I could use to watch the action unfold.

  I looked through the eyepiece and turned the device towards Faso and Wiggea. The thing that I’d seen glinting in the light was a straight blade, and it looked incredibly sharp. It was attached to a pivot at the bottom of the platform, at the same level as the two ropes from which the men hung.

  They had now swung around, and I could see their faces. Wiggea looked straight ahead through squinted and bloodshot eyes, while Faso’s were opened much wider and all the colour had drained out of his face.

  I swallowed hard. “What do you want of me?” I turned to see that the annoying grin hadn’t yet left Colas’ face.

  “You are the catalyst,” he replied. “For the most momentous event in history. But first, let me tell you about my plans for this volcano.”

  “I’m not interested…” And at my defiance, the panther automaton bared its teeth at me and its red eyes glowed brightly.

  “I would advise you not to rub me the wrong way,” Colas said. “Because you see this lever here? Observe.”

  I looked again through the telescope, and I saw the blade turn slightly towards Wiggea.

  “If I turn this one way,” Colas said. “Your soldier will fall. If I turn it the other way, out goes the life of the brilliant inventor. Now, I’m curious. If you had to save one life, which of the two would you choose?”

  “I won’t play your stupid games.”

  “But what if you must? Otherwise, I may decide to make the decision for you.”

  “You can’t…” I narrowed my eyes to slits.

  “Why not? Surely the soldier should be the expendable one, should he not? After all, the inventor’s technology is the best your base can afford, and honestly other than me, perhaps, there isn’t a better scientist in this world. Although I have heard another brilliant young mind has emerged in Tow. But… Yes, I see you have feelings for the soldier. You’re letting your emotions cloud your judgment. Oh, Finesia will work on you yet.”

  I shook my head. “Why does one of them have to die? Just tell me what you want me to do.” I must have been almost in tears at this point. Sukina would have behaved differently, I’m sure. She would find some way to flatten Colas to the floor, and she would take his life before the panther could even stop her. I was hopeless in comparison.

  I stepped away from the telescope and looked over to see if there was a way of reaching Colas. If I could use the railing to vault over the hole, maybe I could kick him away from the lever and into the abyss. But the panther tracked wherever I looked with watchful eyes. I had no way of augmenting, so I was sure the automaton could reach me much faster than I could get over the hole.

  “Such an interesting specimen,” Colas said. He cupped his hand over his mouth and called down to his lackey. “Yarand, are you back up yet? I need you here. And bring the Exalmpora solution.”

  I folded my arms beneath my chest and waited. All the while, my heart racing, trying to find a way out. “Exalmpora?” I asked meekly. And, all of a sudden, I found myself wanting it…

  Yarand appeared at the top of the stairs carrying a glass yard filled with a silver liquid. I watched as he brought it forward, my eyes wide. The contents didn’t act like an ordinary fluid should. Within its viscosity, patterns swirled creating depictions of an empress roving a barren land. Inside the swirls, I noticed two extra colours weaving their own paths. The first was green, the other red, much as they had been in the Exalmpora mix I’d taken with the tribespeople in the jungle. The green, I’d already guessed was secicao. But the red…

  Down in the jungle, they’d taken my blood, the blood of dragonseer. And it occurred to me, clear as the cleanest lake. That red was Taka’s blood. That’s why Colas had wanted the boy. Exalmpora was the blood of a dragon queen. And the blood of a dragonseer would make it more potent. And then with secicao added to the mix… No, I still couldn’t quite work it out.

  “Now, before you drink,” Colas said. “I should tell you about the remarkable discovery I’ve made. For this, my name will go down in history.” So maybe I didn’t need to work it out. Not if Colas gave me the answer on a plate.

  “You see, the collective unconscious is so much more than we’ve ever thought it to be. We imagined it as the construct of minds, but it actually thrums through everything in existence, from the cells that construct our body to the magma that rages beneath this earth. You, as a dragonseer, and dragon queens and dragonmen like Charth and Alsie have a remarkable ability to transcend this powerful force and connect to the makeup of other be
ings in seemingly magical ways.

  “But when Finesia cut the bark of the tree immortal, she also learned how to harness this power. And so she catalysed the spread of secicao throughout the Southlands. And thus she lived within it forever.

  “Here also, within this volcano, is an intense source of the collective unconscious. From the raging lava to the mesmerising cavern walls which write out its very essence. In fact, it connects to the magma at the heart of this earth, which is the most potent source in existence.

  “Now, I was the first of my generation to discover Exalmpora, but I wasn’t the first ever. But I was the initial discoverer of one thing. You see, you don’t need to a dragonseer to create a dragonman or dragonwoman. Any person on this earth can become one. You only need the blood of a dragonseer mixed with Exalmpora and the blood of a dragon queen. Then once that dragonseer becomes a dragonman or dragonwoman, anyone who has drunk of the concoction can also join them in their transformation. So long as they first sacrifice themselves in the blood, or if you like magma, of the earth.”

  Colas knotted his fingers together and looked down at the volcano in glee. “Now,” he continued, “with Finesia’s aid, we shall cover the whole of East Cadigan Island in molten rock. And from it shall rise the most powerful race we’ve ever known.”

  Pah, I didn’t care about this pseudoscience. I just wanted to feel the burn of the Exalmpora as it ran down my throat. I wanted to complete my conversion to dragonwoman. Then, I would hunt down Alsie and take my revenge for what she did to Sukina and Francoiso. And I would become more powerful than Sukina. More powerful than Alsie. The most powerful being on this planet.

  “Ah, now you feel it, my acolyte.” The voice of a goddess again emerged in my head. “Soon, you shall share my power and I shall gift you with everything you’ve ever wanted. You don’t need to spend so much time and perseverance to become all-powerful. Acolyte, I can give you power in an instance.”

  “No,” I told myself. “I have to resist.” But another part of me didn’t want to. The lure of the Exalmpora was too great.