Aether Engineering

Chapter 72

The Barracks in Emanfall

The Shadow beneath the Scar

Footsteps climbed the watchtower of the barracks, and Myles followed even though he was exhausted from staying up for two days straight. It was crazy behavior that no one else would follow. Myles almost laughed at himself as behind him, he heard another set of footsteps, then another, then another, then another, then another.

Myles reached the top to find Seth sitting on the banister, his feet waving over the open air. He hopped up and joined him. Beside him, Jane sat down, then Silas, Mercy, and Kate all joined in, sitting in a line on the wooden banister, kicking their feet in the air.

Seth gave a slight grimace. “You guys are too much.”

“What’s wrong?” Jane asked.

“It just, it’s a lot….” Seth kicked the banister. “I used to live in a town called Keryngrove. I worked for the noble family that ran the place, and they all died.”

It was the type of succinct explanation Myles would expect from Seth, the guy who more than any of them always approached things logically, leaving his emotions aside.

“They weren’t always the best; they certainly didn’t make everyone happy. They had a hand in every business, everyone’s life. Between that and training, they did little else. I know because I was responsible for arranging their schedules—the eldest son’s at least.”

Myles started. He hadn’t been expecting his friend to elaborate more. He’d thought they’d just sit here for a bit and give him their company.

“One day, monsters rushed into the town square. I was with Galan at the time—the Lu family’s eldest—we were taking inventory of some harvest numbers.” Against Myles’ arm, Seth gave a slight tremble. “Ogren, Cinderwolves, Vexenaught, and others climbed through a massive hole. Galan shoved me behind him and told me to run, but I only made it as far as the other villagers”

“Seth.” Mercy was sitting on Seth’s other side and gave him a hug which he gave little reaction to.

“Galan. His younger sister. His younger brother. His father. His mother. They all gave their lives in that square, and only they died.” Seth’s voice had a hint of pride in his voice as he finished, his words getting quieter and quieter. “I didn’t know how much of an honor it was to serve them until it was too late. I didn’t want to serve another family.” Seth paused, swallowing hard. “I left that life, and everything I had grown up knowing. I was afraid I’d never be capable of doing something genuinely good. After seeing this,” Seth gestured towards the flame that was still visible, shielding the grief-stricken from the chill evening air. “I want to protect the innocent. I want no other innocents to die.”

“I still don’t want to kill them.” Jane looked down at the charred ground. “What those bandits did was horrible, unforgiveable, but…”

“…they’re not the same as monsters.” Myles finished for her. He pictured the foreman far beneath Hydrabridge who had believed he was fighting for his fellow miner’s freedom. “People aren’t monsters. When they do evil things…when they take action against someone else…” Myles trailed off, having trouble completing the thought, his mind an exhausted mess.

Kate jumped in as if it was planned. “…they do it because they can only see the good, the good they want to be doing.” Kate shifted on the banister “, or they don’t want to do something, but they’re afraid of what happens if they don’t do it.”

Silas shook his head, feet held steady. “I don’t know that we have a choice. Its not as if we can capture these bandits. I don’t even know if we can kill them. They’re arcaners…”

“…and I refuse to let any of you die.” Mercy looked each and every one of them in the eye. “We only show mercy if we can. No matter what happens, we all come back alive.”

One by one, everyone nodded in agreement. Myles took a pause, looking around at his friends and nodded as well. He still wanted to save whoever he could, but he wasn’t about to leave the responsibility he had been given here, and he wasn’t going to let any of his friends die.

The whole group was about to get up when the banister gave a loud crack. Trained for months, and having spent days in the voidlands at constant risk of attack, the six of them reacted right away, taking the optimal route away from the danger—and they all leaned back, falling to the floor in a pile.

A moment later, while they were still pulling themselves from the floor, Dresden burst through the door. “What’s going on? Are we under attack? Did the bandits return?”

It wasn’t especially funny—obviously—but at the look of alertness and fury on Dresden’s face, the group started rolling around on the wooden boards, shaking with laughter. A bittersweet expression came over Dresden’s face as he told them to “get their butts in bed.”

…

The next morning, the group woke up late, but alert. “Alright. Tomorrow morning, a green flare will be sent up by Primrose.”

The group gave a start. Kate, busy turning a sock over in her hands, looked up and summed up the group’s feelings. “Uh…what?”

“The bandits we’re tracking aren’t the only ones hiding out here, and we’re fairly sure they’ve been given the means to communicate.”

“Given…” Silas muttered. “Given by Paulo.”

“Yes. That’s the idea in any case.” Dresden cracked his neck, and proceeded to stretch out, his body apparently stiff from the unfamiliar bed. “The rogue imperial aurora has been instigating trouble in this area wherever he can.”

“Alright. So, we need to be ready to attack when the green flare goes up. Which means we need to find these bandits before tomorrow morning.”

“That’s right Mercy.” Dresden nodded. “One thing to add before we head out. I’m sure you already know this, but any kind of arcaner is dangerous in a fight. You have more training than these bandits will have, but they have more experience, they have you outnumbered, and they will show plenty of resourcefulness once they are put into a corner.” Dresden scratched his head. “That’s why I’m here to even the odds, but I’m focused on stealth more than outright combat. If things go bad, I may not be able to save you. Use your training. Don’t let things go bad.”

The group agreed, but Myles couldn’t keep his hands from getting a little sweaty. He knew what he was doing, the previous night had helped him sort out his feelings on the matter, but actually doing this was not going to be easy. It was going to be dangerous.

…

The late morning air whipped past the group, and Myles felt the enormity of their task on his shoulders. It was only as he stared out from the gate of Emanfall, across a solid surface of rock that ran for miles that he realized how hopeless their task was. Find them by the next morning—they’d be lucky to find them with a full year to search. Its not as if Dresden was about to lean down and give them all a lesson on tracking. There were no tracks. Outside of Emanfall, everything was solid stone.

Dresden leaned down, staring at the ground, and for a moment, Myles thought he was somehow going to point out some kind of scuff mark or maybe reveal to them all the wonders of scent mana—surely that wasn’t a thing. Instead, Dresden just gave a sigh. “Well, Primrose was right as usual, there is no way I could hope to track anyone here.”

The group sagged a little, but Dresden wasn’t done. “It’s a good thing we brought along an expert then.”

Myles looked around unsure. Kate and Seth had both been given some training in tracking, but they weren’t exactly likely to pick up a trail here.

“Kate.” Dresden put a hand on her shoulder gently. “I know this is going to come out sounding bad, but I also know that Reah has been working with you. The only way we’re going to find anyone out here is with your higher connection.”

Kate looked around her in a slight panic, but she took a deep breath, in and out. She closed her eyes, frowning, then that frown became even worse. After a moment she raised her right hand the whole group held their breath, expecting her to point. Then she slapped herself hard. A sob came from her.

“Kate!” Silas was rushing forward at once.

“Reah trained me every day for two months. She walked me through everything step by step.” Kate kicked the ground in frustration. “She even talked to me a little about her own higher connection, what it meant to her. I know I can do this, I want to do this, its just a little pain, nothing like I’ve experienced before…”

Dresden shook his head. “I’m calling this. We’ll have to find another way. I’m not about to torture you to make this mission easier.”

Kate whirled around and glared. “Not…happening.”

The group stood there, unable to do anything for what felt like minutes. Eventually, Kate’s knees locked, and her whole body went ramrod straight. Slowly, her arm extended, pointing to the northwest. “Found them. All twelve of them. Can you imagine, every single one of them has some scrape or bruise. Why can’t anyone be a little bit considerate?”

Kate led them unerringly. They had to skirt around the occasional cliffside that blocked them, but it still took barely an hour for them to find their prey. In a cave that they quickly confirmed only had one exit, the bandits sat around their camp, chatting barely a mile from Emanfall.