Dragon (S)Layers Ch. 60

"Was that how you- er. . . .died?"

"Unfortunately no."

Caldion let out a long sigh through pursed lips.

"It flew," Sarah insisted. "For seven months it worked fine. . ."

"Until it didn't."

Thank the gods they'd understood, even if it was a double edged sword. "Five hundred marks of white oak is a terrifically heavy load to bear on steel and air, yet that this boat exists at all is a testimonial to the power of possibility, is it not?" Sarah motioned back to the brigantine. "Allow me to present this another way: Isira wants you to hunt that creature down, we want to avoid bringing it to civilized lands and keep our own heads attached, yes?

"We'll never make it with the tools we have- if we scatter to the winds, we may make it a long time but she will eventually find us."

Tess bit her lower lip. "Find you, you mean. . . .she was after you."

"She was, yes. But now she may well be after any of us- and let's not kid ourselves into thinking she wouldn't kill these two fine gentlemen for the mere act of worshiping a god much less serving one! Our survival isn't the only thing on the line, here, let's be reasonable."

"Reasonable would be ignoring anything you say and putting as much distance as we could between you and her." Caldion wasn't about to let her off the hook that easy, though, and if Sarah was feeling charitable she'd probably have agreed with him. Unfortunately charity wasn't really her strongest suit.

It was Keiter's however: "The past doesn't care what our future selves do- but we'll know looking back. That thing murdered the faithful of Isira in their own church, and would have killed any of us, too. I don't expect you to understand but She asked me to help, to protect my friend and keep that creature from spreading. . . .we're servants, we serve our gods and humanoids don't we?

When his eyes turned up to address Tess there was a certain warmth in his voice. Something Sarah hadn't heard in a long time. Hope. "You saw in Leslie what I did, the fear and anger- that loneliness. How many more will be left that way if it has its way? I can't tell you that this will have a happy ending, but I can promise you that doing nothing we condemn many more to what we've seen.

"We can do this. If not this way, we can find another."

Sarah stared at her friend for the first time in absolute puzzlement. What the hells did they do in that village? Even Caldion seemed vaguely at a loss. But whatever he and Tess had shared seemed to have swayed her somewhat. Her turbulent gaze settled on Sarah and she sighed.

"Fine, but how?"

Sarah almost missed her opportunity. "We'll need to go to a village known as Popi in the Free States, it's a long road, but there are mines and foundries we can utilize along the way. Most of my parts were forged from foreign metals, I'm confident I can-"

"How confident, exactly?" Caldion prodded.

Sarah couldn't resist, she forced a smile and spread her hands. "Were I any more confident, I'd be charging you to build it."

Nobody was smiling. Least of all Sarah.

#

Three days later they arrived in a village by the name of Bosin, little more than a hamlet really but full of the kind of familiar charms that would invite the wary and exhausted to pull up a chair and relax for a while without fear of being pick pocketed or gutted in their sleep.

Sarah had no such intentions, of course, but when they got to the White Fire Inn on the edge of town she fell to the sirens call of a warm hearth and effervescent tea. They all did, even if no one gave voice to their individual submission, and they bathed and stretched and were treated like old friends by the locals.

For a while it was almost enough to forget that they were actually running from threats beyond them. But after a night's sleep Keiter was quick to remind them they had plans to make. Schemes may have been more accurate, really, but none the less Sarah made sure things were directed towards the important issues while Caldion and Tess took care of the more domestic issues.

Like not getting kicked out of the inn when Sarah tried to pay with dragon's gold.

Little things.

Tess also surprised all of them with her ability to negotiate a good price for sundries and water while Sarah was busy buying up every piece of tool quality steel and burn stock she could get her hands on. Even paying the vastly inflated prices she did, Sarah couldn't help but try for more. Greed be damned, this needed to work. . . .and she needed a prototype.

Sarah parked her hand cart alongside the inn and a few dozen paces from the ship and sighed. Staring at her new collection of farm implements, it occurred to her that she was really going to try this; did she have any right to? Did the memory of The Beloved and The Child mean so little to her that she would risk poisoning even that?

Sarah braced her hands on the lip of her little hand cart. She didn't. She was a gods damned fool and coward- her companions would figure out that she was more interested in running than fighting the dragon and sooner or later they'd revolt if the gods damned ship didn't kill them in the meantime.

Her heart clenched as a flash of the debris field exploded in her vision. The casements had failed. The reactor- wasn't it? The bearings, maybe. . .

"Stop," Sarah ground out. She could fix this. She could make it better. Her heart fluttered and slammed against her ribs like a battering ram, reminding her that her lies were ones not even she believed. This was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The tools were useful, they didn't need to be part of some engine of death. Just put this silliness aside and get on with running. It was what she was best at after all, why let that get in the way of a perfectly comfortable life running the hell away from danger in something less conspicuous?

"You need a plan." She whispered to herself. "Just concentrate. You can do this. . ."

Something scraped along the road along side the inn with the heavy grinding of canvas being dragged with far too much effort. Keiter was huffing and panting, dragging a folded up canvas tarp by a rope. His makeshift sled was piled up with paint and rope and all manner of wood hooks that looked as finely crafted as anything forged in metal.

"W- what are you doing?" Sarah wiped her face and with it came her most practiced ease. "Would you like some help?"

Keiter hesitated, half doubled over from the weight of the massive tarp before he eventually bobbed his hooded head. Together they packed it into the ship along the the other new supplies for the trip. When they were done the little kobold sat on the lip of the exhaust hole in the bottom and swept his hood back looking at Sarah with that typically unreadable expression.

"The ship," he said softly. "It's very noticeable. But it gave me an idea! Do you remember Arlensiel Field?"

"I can't say that I do. . ."

"Really?" As though it were the most obvious damned thing in the world. "The first show you took me to. You gave me candy?"

It clicked. Sarah chuffed. "And you threw up all over me. Gods, but that night was so hot and humid, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but it was fun! People smiling and laughing, telling stories and music. The games! Do you remember the games?"

"I do!" She didn't have it in her to tell him she'd rigged them all. "I was paid quite well to set up that event, if I recall correctly. Good gods that was forever ago, but what does a carnival have to do with a tarp?"

One of those rare kobold smiles lit up his muzzle, unsettling and vaguely predatory as was fitting his nature but utterly alive with the possibility. Hopeful. "Why not make our own?!"

Sarah blinked.

"Yes, yes. We can bring Isira to everyone we meet and hide the ship!"

She almost balked. She almost called it a silly idea out of hand but the longer the idea sat the more it made sense. It'd allow them to build upward and make a scaffolding on the deck along with some waterproofing and it certainly would be less conspicuous to the outside world.

He knew he had her. His tail swished lazily and a flicker of pride sparked in his features as he raised his chin. If there was a moment where she could've turned this whole thing around it would have been turning down this idea, splitting up the horses and taking to the road.

But instead she found herself nodding.

It was a silent acceptance of the whatever may come their way. She prayed the hope in Keiter's expression wasn't just a pale reflection of what he was holding for all of them, gods knew they needed all the luck they could get.