by Han Yang
“Uh…” I said, catching some dark glances in my direction from the men shoveling food into their mouths. These guards were playing at being friendly, but I could feel their hatred, telling me they were not my friend. I connected the dots. “Exile?”
He smiled, aggressively patting me on the back with each smack giving an echoing slap. “Well done, well done. It’s that or I fight off a few mercenary companies heading this way. We got about half a day's lead on them. Ginli is set to die or flee. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Additional glares with sneering grins came from the captain’s force. I gulped. There were no other mercenaries coming. They were here, and sitting around me.
I was out of options. Ginli may hate me for making a choice with her healing, but there really wasn’t an option.
Joana tucked her hand into mine, leaning into me with concern. Yeah… A few wrong words and I’d be dead.
“You mentioned a blimp,” I said, conceding this wasn’t a fight I could win. Twenty to two against brain dead rabbits maybe. Charlie’s hand hovered near his sidearm, twitching for me to make a move. I held hands up, soothing him. “Are we going on it or just Ginli?”
He eyed me with a pondering gaze. “The last time Ginli was seen she was fawning over a new love interest. Her fleeing with you, saves her life. She… she won’t see it that way, but I hope you do.”
“I…” I grimaced, finding the words difficult to stomach. Past memories of knowing when to admit defeat came to me. I wanted to live. Joana clung to me in desperation. She didn’t want to die. “I find a blimp trip sounds amazing.”
There were chuckles from the men and Charlie raced up. His speed was a blur as he kicked a sneering man into the fire. The man rolled out, extinguishing his arm while scampering away from his boss.
“You daft fools. If you had an ounce of a brain like this… this… this...”
“Bradley,” Joana meekly said.
“Bradley, you’d get promoted more. Tell ya what you filthy peons. Half of ya get in that mine and collect the ore,” Charlie bellowed in a commanding tone.
“Gems. Can I have the H from the workers?” I asked.
He shook his head with a sorry, not sorry shrug. Getting fleeced made sense too. “This steambot yours?” Charlie asked, pointing at Duke.
“Yea, a custom I bought from a nice chap,” I said.
“Good, the others were… forcefully turned off. Ginli is already in the steamblimp aboard her carriage.” He paused when three men arrived carrying scoops of gems. I opened my bag and they dumped them in. “Thank you for making this easy and seeing reason. Oh, and this mine.”
I scrunched my face. Yup no hostile forces coming for sure. This was the snake right here. I said, “I think this is best for everyone.”
He stood, gesturing for us to follow him. He tisked when I went for Darcy and I understood. No weapons. Duke waddled behind me, silent as Joana. I really hoped I wasn’t being marched to a pre-dug pit, because that is what it felt like. Obviously I’d go down fighting if I saw a pit. I wasn’t one of those guys.
There was a tension as we ascended the stairs to exit the cave. When I saw a blimp on the ground, I sighed.
“You’re really letting us go?” I asked so only he could hear.
He shooed the other guards back, placing a finger over his lips. I sealed my mouth, following him for the blimp.
That vessel was not only expensive, it meant I likely wasn’t about to be murdered.
The white shell of the building-sized vessel reflected the setting sun. A few steam ports puffed out white clouds of magical gas. I could see a pilot’s station below and a side viewport constructed of gold. There were windows just about everywhere you could place them.
This blimp screamed private yacht with its small construction and sleek hull. When I saw the signature mountain engraved in the construction that matched the stamped coins, I concluded this was probably the late Mistress’s ship.
We trekked beyond our camp. Dead steambots littered the grounds with no dead guards. The wagons were barren and everything was here, except for the steam carriage that Ginli rested in.
A wide ramp was down on the back of the blimp. The carriage was fit snugly inside and strapped down. I followed the brooding man up the metallic ramp, each step echoing with a sound of hope.
I had to remain positive. Charlie held the other guards back, raising the ramp. A hiss and whine of servos turning allowed the ramp to eventually snap closed. The resounding thud had him letting out a relieved sigh.
“I really didn’t want to kill you. Korvi is too close to send loyalists fleeing Langshire. You’re going to Nornfree, a place you barely mentioned in passing to Leon.” He shifted to gaze down on Joana. “Yes, your parents will be joining you by train. Already safely onboard.” Charlie handed Joana a letter.
She swiped the wax seal and peered at the writing. “It is his writing. I’m confused as to what is going on. What do my parents have to do with this?”
“Everything and nothing. Tarco rules Langshire now.” My mouth dropped and he waved me off from speaking. “Yup, that one. No big secret as of today. Ginli is exiled and all her faithful are told to flee to some rotting backwaters town called Nornfree. Yeah, spoiler here… Only a few jumped at the offer. Ginli was never loved much,” Charlie said with a shrug. “The big thing is.
“We need an avenue to have people peacefully exit. Even if the majority of them don’t go to Nornfree, they can say they are. And that fixes our dissent problem.”
“So… we’re banished?” I asked. “My account and apartment?”
“Gone and gone. This trip costs more than you even scratched from this pathetic mine. The blimp’s bridge is locked behind thick doors. The venturebots that guard that door have it sealed with orders for it to never open. You try to alter the ship and they’ll crash it. And yeah, you’re banished. Ginli burned a whole lot of bridges. You two… are sealed to her fate,” Charlie said, heading to lower the ramp.
“Um… thank you for not killing us,” I said and he nodded.
“Wasn’t my call. I don’t like loose ends. The new leadership really wants her to be seen alive. Three accidents in two days would be harder to sell. Do me a favor, kid, don’t ever come back. Or yer dead on sight,” he hit the button, lowering the ramp, and said, “Goodbye, forever.”
We didn’t wave or even finish watching him descend the ramp. A venture bot hit the up button, eyeing us with a metallic finger pointing for the carriage.
I tested him by standing still. The robot grumbled in beeps and boops, ejecting steam in frustration, but went deeper into the blimp when the ramp snapped shut.
The decking under my feet jostled as we lifted off. That was it. Just like that my fate changed with a few murders. The time for revenge was not now.
Joana and I stared at each other in disbelief. Eventually she broke the silence. “We have a decent haul, our health mostly, Ginli will survive, and Duke.”
Before I could reply she dashed into the carriage. She came back with a relieved look in her blue eyes and a terse nod.
“Oh, Duke, this is Joana, Joana obviously this is Duke.” I put on a fake smile, and my attempt to lighten the mood fell flat. I pointed to the carriage. “She is going to be so pissed.”
“Yeah, I think so too. Hopefully she doesn’t get us killed,” Joana said turning to Duke. “How long is a flight from Langshire to Nornfree?”
“This ship, five days or so,” Duke said with a shrug. “This vessel is extremely nice. How about we wallow in our situation from the viewports?”
“No way we make landfall before she wakes. I sure hope they didn’t leave any weapons,” I muttered.
Duke’s neck creaked as he nodded. “I concur. We must not assault the bridge.”
I wasn’t going to let this get me down. “You got all the H right?”
“Yeah, Ginli has the rest of it in a pouch around her neck. We’re exiled but not destitute. I’ve never been on a blimp. Can I hold yer hand whi
le we fly away?”
I picked her up in a hug, landing a light kiss on her lips. After the recent stress it just felt right. She returned the lip lock, booping my nose when our lips parted. Her finger wag did not match what her eyes were saying.
“Gotta stay positive,” I said, setting her down.
“I’m trapped on a fancy ship with a charming man and a robot that is… unique. This will be a pleasant voyage. Father’s note was real and written from a train. We can really turn this around, and no offense to Langshire, but it sucked.”
Duke raised a hand for attention as we headed for the viewing area. “Why did the math book look so sad?”
I tilted my head in confusion and Joana rolled her eyes. “That’s an easy one. Because it was full of problems!”
I lightly laughed at the joke. For the next hour Duke would set up punch lines and Joana would deliver the cheesy dad type jokes. I watched the thick forest fade into tiny trees on the horizon as we crossed the vast sea.
The most marvelous thing I had ever seen came after they stopped telling jokes. There were train tracks randomly crossing the ocean. A steaming locomotive trailed billowing bluish white smoke as it sped for somewhere far, far, away.
I couldn’t help but be awed. My home sure was amazing and I knew at that moment I’d try my hardest to get Ginli to be positive about the dramatic change in our lives.
CHAPTER 16
“Ya sure?” Joana asked. We watched Ginli stomp off for the only bar in the entire town still open. Duke ran after her, giving us a thumbs up that he’d be there for her. The two had bonded to some extent.
I huffed, tossing my hands up in frustration of the past week.
The allure of a steamblimp went away after you realized it was a prison in the air. Then when Ginli healed… well, the woman was a mess of emotions. Thankfully, she didn’t get us killed by charging the bridge.
After five days I was ready to depart, and especially when we barely landed in Nornfree. There was a huge buffeting of winds until we were almost on the ground…
While I was happy to have a road under my feet, Ginli raced off to drown her sorrows in booze and gambling.
“What do you think of the city?” Joana asked.
I shrugged. “Missing tumbleweeds, and holy crap it’s cold.”
“I don’t get it.”
I frowned, not sure of the reference either. “It’s empty. I want to take in the sight of the town and get a feel for it before we race into helping Ginli.”
I glanced north to see there were minimal fields leading to a short metallic wall. Beyond that a massive mountain peak towered in the sky. The mighty cliffs soared so high I had to crane my neck to view the snowy top.
The wall was tight, wrapping right and left until it reached a choppy ocean. You could see the outline of a small town that was little more than a village now. There were two Gearnix Stations on the east and west exits and a single Gearnix City Station next to a massive waterfall that did not spurt water.
Behind the waterfall rested a wide set of four stairs that led to a covered train station. Towering Gearnix guards stood motionless, protecting the area. A quick turn showed there were almost no businesses still operating.
The bar didn’t even turn its sign on to advertise it was accepting patrons. A market held a few people browsing a dozen or so vendors. I saw maybe a half dozen stores. There were three boats in the harbor with two pushing out to sea in the early morning daylight.
There was a lack of towering structures. Only massive warehouses by the docks still showed any sign of a previous metropolitan city. There were homes. In the vast majority of the city were one story, cozy looking, cabins. The feel of the town was so polar opposite to Langshire and I loved the quiet serene nature of this place.
I just had to hope the people weren’t as vile or ruthless. An immediate question leapt to mind when I saw a podium in the center of an empty lot.
“What are these pedestals?” I asked, pointing to a four foot stand inside what likely used to be a store.
“Oh, that is a construction point. Gearnix operates their structures via lots. The lots are claimed and then taxed to the main City Station,” Joana said, waving me over to the nearest stand.
“So you don’t hammer and build here?” I was a bit miffed at the prospect.
She frowned. Not only at the question but because there were people following us. Their curiosity was evident as they trailed us but kept their distance.
“I don’t think they get many people flying in on a blimp. I wonder if they’ll mess with the carriage,” I mumbled.
“They seem friendly enough. So... building construction stations, which is what this podium is, are how you initiate a building. I haven’t unlocked the skill yet, but I do know the basics. You go to the Gearnix Station and purchase the skill from the manager inside.
“I think the hydrox fee is determined by how many dwellers in the city currently possess the skill. So if there are a hundred citizens with construction skill, then the cost would be higher than purchasing the skill for smithing. Basically Gearnix wants a balanced ecosystem. I always wanted cooking. Like so badly. Maybe… yeah maybe.”
My sputtering had her eyeing me curiously. “I missed the notification that I'd need to unlock skills.”
“Um… It is common knowledge, sorry. The thing with the skills is they are mostly superficial,” Joana said, coming in from the side for a hug. “Do you like my cooking?”
“Like enough to never let you get away,” I blurted
She blushed. “Shucks. Well, that is my point. You can be a good cook with no skill on your data sheet.”
We had grown closer during our five days crammed in the blimp. Honestly, I realized I never grew tired of talking with her or having her around. Ginli was sour and a pain, but she was going through a lot.
“Got another example of how they’re superficial?” I wanted to better understand the system that I... I should know about.
“Well, lumberjack is a skill. It’s cutting down a tree, Bradley. Not an overly complex skill. The thing is, if you go and get the skill, and then chop a thousand trees, hurray! You are lumberjack 12 or whatever. Now when ya go to Harry’s Loggin for a job you can say here is my skill level,” Joana said.
I squeezed her slightly tighter. “That is interesting. If ya suck at fishing it’d show a captain you’re not good or you need to improve at least. Okay. I like it. How does it apply to this?” I pointed at the podium.
A well-dressed man with dual mechanical arms and a monocle over his eye headed from the growing crowd.
Joana realized our private moment was coming to an end and said, “This is second hand knowledge. So dad has… had one of these in the basement. Basically when you want to do an upgrade, you need to assemble the materials first.
“Gearnix doesn’t want half a building and it wants every building to be unique but complete. Hmm… harder to explain than I realized. You initiate a build. The building station will then highlight what piece goes where in a blue hue, helping you build step by step.
“Important note. Until the construction is complete your store, or apartment, or whatever is shut down. So you want to follow the blueprint quickly. If you don’t pay taxes and your amount due equals to your value, the Gearnix City Station will repossess the materials to pay for sustaining the city.”
“Quite right!” the man said with a chipper tone. “And those warehouses down there are filled with steel that we trade in Portin from buildings degrading. Where most of our residents fled to. I’m Hudson, and welcome to Nornfree.”
I clasped his forearm firmly. “I’m Bradley and this is…” I nodded to my lovely white haired lady.
She stuck out her forearm to greet him. They clasped arms and she said, “Joana, pleasure to meet you.”
“What brings you here?” Hudson asked.
Joana, Duke, Ginli and I talked about this at length. There were a few options for how to respond to this question. For a while we were
going to flee to the nearest active city, abandoning Nornfree at the first opportune moment. We talked about living lavishly until we needed to return for when Leon and Lei arrived.
Or we setup here in Nornfree. Our hydrox would go a lot further here, but the amenities were going to be lacking. Ginli had a lot of curse words to say when we discussed the matter with her. Joana and I decided that lavish could wait and told her our minds were made up.
It came down to the fact we both respected her parents. If I was Leon, I’d be disappointed if I arrived in a crumbling town with no place to even sleep. So that was a mission of ours: we thought of maybe fixing the entire town, and if not, a nice shop, two homes or an apartment, and maybe an adventuring guild seemed like a nice idea.
I glanced down at Joana and she nodded. “We’re here to settle.”
He snorted, amused by our proclamation. When he realized we were serious he frowned. “May I ask why?”
“You may,” Joana said politely. This was our other debate. If we wanted to be settlers then we’d need Ginli to play along. That likely wouldn’t happen. Especially if some refugees or outcasts from Langshire arrived. “We are an exodus of an overpopulated town called Langshire. The woman in the bar was important… and is now banished. Nothing nefarious, just a leadership change she wasn’t invited to.”
“I’d imagine if it were miscreants, you’d hide your nature. Nornfree has had its own exodus of leaders that were run out for poor management. Gotta restart somewhere. But why Nornfree?” Hudson said, folding his hands together with an inquisitive glance between us.
The onlookers approached to join our small group. Joana and I gave friendly waves that they returned.
“Um… it wasn’t selected by us, but we’re determined to make the most of it,” I said and the group nodded, liking that answer.
Hudson smiled with a squint of pain. “I’d offer a tour but yer looking at all that’s left. The business district is there. Those homes used to be apartments. The docks are a fraction of what they used to be.”
“What happened?” Joana asked.
“Overfishing and lack of trade blimp landing is the short answer. Why don’t we sit and have a drink,” Hudson said, heading for the bar. “Come too, Yorik.” An old man with a cane slowed our pace. His leg was off, as in he was out of hydrox to keep powering his augmentations. “Yorik runs the adventuring shop. I run the bank and manage the city finances. Mainly just tell folks how long until stuff turns off.”