Mirrok said. It was not quite a question.
“I don’t intend to give them a choice,” Westteich said, and laughed. “I’ve finally found people who expect nothing less than the best. I can only hope they’re ready for me.”
“Well said.” The voice came not from Mirrok, but from the ax riding at Mirrok’s hip. It had been there all along, hidden beneath the fold of Mirrok’s cloak. Westteich wondered if the ax had hidden himself deliberately, and then decided that it didn’t really matter. “We have little use for those who are afraid to be bold, Lord Westteich,” Arikayurichi added, “and I look forward to seeing what you can do.”
“Then why are you sending me to manage affairs at a mine?” Westteich asked. The ax had just said that he wanted boldness, after all.
Arikayurichi laughed. “The mine manages itself quite well. The workers have an excellent safety record, and I can only imagine how much they would detest a lord coming in to tell them how to do their jobs.”
Westteich thought for a moment. “The processing center. This is where raw crystal is prepared for shipping and separated into the different ores that can hold various enchantments . . .”
“This is the most magically rich spot in the Republic,” Arikayurichi said. “Do you know why it is called the Sunrise Canyon?”
“The red stripes on the walls, I had assumed,” Westteich said. “The paintings show them lighting up quite nicely when the sun hits them, and . . . that probably isn’t the actual reason.”
“Not too long ago, the Champion of Dawn defeated the Champion of Dusk,” Arikayurichi said as the airship began to descend into the canyon. “In doing so, he fulfilled his part of the prophecy, ensuring that this world would move into day and not the terrible endless night of the Glimmering Folk.”
The airship sank past the bright-red stone of the canyons.
“And every dawn,” Arikayurichi finished, “needs a sunrise.”
The last airship Loch’s team had stolen had been a sleek Republic military craft that Kail had, over many objections, named Iofegemet . Their current airship had been stolen from a minor lord’s second-best shed several weeks ago outside Ros-Aelafuir after they’d finally gotten the information they needed about the Forge of the Ancients. The airship had no flamecannons, minimal barriers, and a top speed roughly equivalent to a brisk walk.
The morning after their escape from whatever the agents of the ancients had brought to hunt them, Loch and the others were sitting in the unnamed airship when Kail sighed, banged the console, and said, “We’re gonna need to put in for repairs.”
Loch nodded, running a finger down the length of her new dragon-headed cane sword. She’d kept it stashed back in the little town, given that dragon-headed cane swords with rubies for eyes tended to be memorable in the minds of potential witnesses later. “Desidora, progress with the tracking crystal?”
Desidora shut her eyes and paled briefly. The wood of the deck around her went black, with the little knots taking the shape of tiny silver skulls. “It’s no longer moving. At a guess, they’re at their destination.”
Loch grimaced. “Kail?”
“It’s a need, not a want. Wards are . . . there’s something in how they’re tweaked that is probably not bad until it suddenly is.”
“Airship wards have multiple redundant power cycles based on prime-numerical values,” Hessler chimed in, “and the more ward-crystals fail, the fewer multiples are active to keep wards constantly available. Eventually, for example, if you’re down to a seven-second ward and a thirteen-second ward, then every ninety-one seconds, both will be—”
“While your intent is clearly to provide information, I am only becoming more alarmed,” said Icy, who was seated on the deck in an uncomfortable-looking twisted-up meditation pose.
“Yes,” Tern added from the railing, where she was determinedly not throwing
“I don’t intend to give them a choice,” Westteich said, and laughed. “I’ve finally found people who expect nothing less than the best. I can only hope they’re ready for me.”
“Well said.” The voice came not from Mirrok, but from the ax riding at Mirrok’s hip. It had been there all along, hidden beneath the fold of Mirrok’s cloak. Westteich wondered if the ax had hidden himself deliberately, and then decided that it didn’t really matter. “We have little use for those who are afraid to be bold, Lord Westteich,” Arikayurichi added, “and I look forward to seeing what you can do.”
“Then why are you sending me to manage affairs at a mine?” Westteich asked. The ax had just said that he wanted boldness, after all.
Arikayurichi laughed. “The mine manages itself quite well. The workers have an excellent safety record, and I can only imagine how much they would detest a lord coming in to tell them how to do their jobs.”
Westteich thought for a moment. “The processing center. This is where raw crystal is prepared for shipping and separated into the different ores that can hold various enchantments . . .”
“This is the most magically rich spot in the Republic,” Arikayurichi said. “Do you know why it is called the Sunrise Canyon?”
“The red stripes on the walls, I had assumed,” Westteich said. “The paintings show them lighting up quite nicely when the sun hits them, and . . . that probably isn’t the actual reason.”
“Not too long ago, the Champion of Dawn defeated the Champion of Dusk,” Arikayurichi said as the airship began to descend into the canyon. “In doing so, he fulfilled his part of the prophecy, ensuring that this world would move into day and not the terrible endless night of the Glimmering Folk.”
The airship sank past the bright-red stone of the canyons.
“And every dawn,” Arikayurichi finished, “needs a sunrise.”
The last airship Loch’s team had stolen had been a sleek Republic military craft that Kail had, over many objections, named Iofegemet . Their current airship had been stolen from a minor lord’s second-best shed several weeks ago outside Ros-Aelafuir after they’d finally gotten the information they needed about the Forge of the Ancients. The airship had no flamecannons, minimal barriers, and a top speed roughly equivalent to a brisk walk.
The morning after their escape from whatever the agents of the ancients had brought to hunt them, Loch and the others were sitting in the unnamed airship when Kail sighed, banged the console, and said, “We’re gonna need to put in for repairs.”
Loch nodded, running a finger down the length of her new dragon-headed cane sword. She’d kept it stashed back in the little town, given that dragon-headed cane swords with rubies for eyes tended to be memorable in the minds of potential witnesses later. “Desidora, progress with the tracking crystal?”
Desidora shut her eyes and paled briefly. The wood of the deck around her went black, with the little knots taking the shape of tiny silver skulls. “It’s no longer moving. At a guess, they’re at their destination.”
Loch grimaced. “Kail?”
“It’s a need, not a want. Wards are . . . there’s something in how they’re tweaked that is probably not bad until it suddenly is.”
“Airship wards have multiple redundant power cycles based on prime-numerical values,” Hessler chimed in, “and the more ward-crystals fail, the fewer multiples are active to keep wards constantly available. Eventually, for example, if you’re down to a seven-second ward and a thirteen-second ward, then every ninety-one seconds, both will be—”
“While your intent is clearly to provide information, I am only becoming more alarmed,” said Icy, who was seated on the deck in an uncomfortable-looking twisted-up meditation pose.
“Yes,” Tern added from the railing, where she was determinedly not throwing
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