From beyond the fla-lit silhouettes of endless pavilion tents, one boisterous voice sounded above all others. Release!
Gunfire flared at Angelikas command. The echoes of spent black powder thundered across the moonlit sky and faded into a crescendo of clapping and laughter. Once the last cheer had been cheered, crude woodwinds and lutes dominated the atmosphere once more, playing a lively folk dance, this ti in quintuple ter.
Tonight, the Hospitaller celebrated. And they did so loudly.
No matter how far Dimitry strolled from the commotion, his troops never seed to get any quieter. He wasnt complaining. In a settlent that offered little more entertainnt than fish and sand, he gladly took any opportunity to boost the morale of his soldiers. Today, a troop of farrs and village artisans had triumphed over the heathens without becoming the fodder of a commanding lord or bishop. The victory was theirs alone. Well, mostly. The sorceresses had watched their backs the entire ti.
Still, Dimitry would be remiss to say he was any less euphoric than his soldiers. He rejoiced alongside them when he had delivered a victory speech at the celebrations comncent. Their newfound strength ant they were less likely to beco a heathens prey. Less likely to end up on his operating table. For him, that was plenty.
But Dimitry did not relish in the festivities for long. For him to indulge in praise while the one most responsible for todays success labored on her loneso in the dark left a bitter taste in his mouth. He left his troops with so heartening words before departing for the workshop on the colonys periphery.
A yellow-robed woman leaned by the entrance of his destination, arms folded across her chest. Leandra raised her head. The wrinkles of middle age at their corners, her athyst eyes hawked Dimitry from the shadow of her hood. She kicked the door open and held it with her elbow.
Dimitry reciprocated with an appreciative node before sliding past the court sorceress into the workshop, the wooden bowls unsteadily stacked atop his arms clattering with every step. He carried ocean-fresh staples and the remnants of this mornings hunt. The finest culinary ingredients his settlent had to offer.
Inside, a sole tallow lantern struggled to banish the encroaching dark. re hours ago, the workshop glowed with modified ltia enchantnts and sweltered with furnaces, blacksmiths tending to the lot. But now the occupants and their apprentices roasted fresh venison on the beach. All of them except for one.
She hunched over a to, delicate fingers around the shift of a quill. Her cold indigo eyes pierced him from across the room. And then they softened. Dimitry.
He made his way across a floor overgrown with wilting grass dyed green by pale moonlight beams seeping through cracks in the walls. One could hear only rustling vegetation and whistling gales between their words. While I respect the hustle, even princesses deserve breaks. Keep this up and youll end up like .
It is not a vice to devote oneself to ones labors.
Sounds like sothing a workaholic would say.
Then it is you who must have taught , Saphiria said. Three lashes to the teacher for every one the student.
What?
It is a saying.
A thought at the proverbs doubtlessly barbaric origins coaxed a wince from Dimitry. He dropped off his ingredients beside a charcoal furnace and joined Saphiria across the table, pressing his palms onto ice cold wood. I know were on a bit of a tight schedule, but at least co out long enough for to tell everyone what youve accomplished. You made guns work. Not . Id feel a lot better if you took the credit for your success.
You need not trouble yourself on my part. I am content so long as you know. Saphirias attention returned to her to, quill moving with deft precision. And unlike you, I flounder in casual matters. I can muster the courage for official duties, but people freeze and cower whenever I start a conversation. My presence there shall serve only to dampen the mood.
Dimitry thought he understood. Not only did Saphiria represent the overbearing might of the throne, but she also greeted others with an inapproachable beauty and a reflexive murderous glare that could bring even the bravest peasant to his knees. The trifecta of social isolation. Well, have you tried smiling? People tend to like that sort of thing.
I smile. Sotis.
Im sure the troops would love to see that.
Perhaps tomorrow.
Dimitry interpreted her response as I cant be bothered. A sha. The girl was a gentle personality tarnished by a piss-poor publicist. Figured youd say that. Since getting you outs impossible, I brought so food with . We can have our own mini cookout.
That can wait. Saphiria tapped a vellum page with her quill. Co, I wish to show you sothing.
He rounded the table to accompany the girl. Pressed beneath her palm was the to she often read to herself before bed. While Dimitry didnt know what stories its pages contained, for opals to encrust the cover and velvet bindings to stretch down the spine, they must have been damn good. Her soot-stained fingernail scrolled past a section of gorgeous handwriting to a diagram of rectangles and wedges.
What am I looking at? Dimitry asked.
Chills. Saphiria watched him expectantly. For casting. Her expression was eager to share, like that of a dical student who sohow got to perform a Pfannenstiel incision on a pregnant patient.
Alright, he said. But first, can you put on sothing warm? Youre shivering.
I have nothing with .
Not even your cloak?
Saphiria stepped to the side. No.
The girls movent aroused suspicion within Dimitry. He glanced past her to discover an anvil upholding a yellow cloak with a familiar snowshoe hare snoozing inside the collar. I see that.
Im not cold.
Its a wild animal with its own winter coat. Itll be fine. You wont.
Stop! If you awaken Cecilia, I will never forgive you. Never.
Really? He halted his advance. All that for so rabbit? What if its carrying a disease?
Saphiria tailed him, the ferocity with which she approached a sharp contrast to her whispering. She has been scrambling scared for three days, and I finally got her to trust enough to fall asleep with nearby. If you ruin this for , Ill
Dimitry pulled off his uniform and draped it over Saphirias shoulders. I just dont want you to freeze to death like you almost did in Amalthea. He folded the woolen lapels against her exposed neck. Ill never get to hear about casting that way.
The girls indigo eyes lost their intensity. She sniffled innocently, as if their altercation had never happened.
And that was that. As much as Saphiria deserved it, Dimitry couldnt will himself to stay upset with her. Is it safe to assu you didnt eat supper?
I was about to.
And lunch? At least tell you ate lunch.
She stared at him in silence.
The need to further question Saphiria bubbled within Dimitry, but he feared his sanity would not sustain if he had learned to what extent she had been neglecting her well-being. He disard the destructive urge with a deep breath. Turn on the heat. Im making food.
With a final longing glance at her to, Saphiria swept lustrous vol shavings from a vise onto her palm, holding the other forward. Ignia.
A cart-bound bloory billowed to life. The charcoals crackled as if the flas had started everywhere at once.
An inviting warmth caressed Dimitrys spine as he laid out the ingredients on the table, uneven planks creaking with the slightest movent. Realizing he forgot to bring a pan, he lifted the lower half of a cylindrical land mine from an adjacent workbench, rinsed the cast steel base with marginally saline water, and rested the implent over the fire.
Without so much as a hint of effort, Saphiria vaulted onto the table and glided into a seated position. Legs bouncing against the base, she examined the contents of the wooden bowls, pausing at one containing fleshy opaque dallions. I do not recognize these.
Theyre scallops. Dimitry knocked a lump of hog lard into the improvised pan. The greasy white mixture sizzled into a clear, viscous liquid.
Scallops? Saphiria unsheathed a sapphire-encrusted dagger to poke the thickest one. Are you certain they are edible?
Youre telling youve never had a scallop before?
I have heard of scallops, but I have never seen a scallop.
Your familys been in the fishing trade forever and youve seriously never had a scallop?
Brows furrowed, Saphiria frowned as if he had insulted her honor. How a man who lives by the shore is unaware I cannot know, but only fish with fins have value. The trawler captains discard the rest or keep it for themselves.
Dimitry struggled to believe that scallops, among the priciest foods of the modern age, were tantamount to waste in this world. That explained why the troops didnt fight over them when the fishing harvests ca around. He thought his fishern were paying their respects by letting the apostle choose the best shares uncontested, but recalling their awestruck faces, they might have been amazed that Dimitry took the worst of the haul so that no one else would have to.
He dumped the dallions onto the lard. The translucent flesh turned opaque, and a savory-sweet aroma overpowered the lingering stench of scorched iron. How about crab? I know they dont have fins, but surely
Nothing more than seafloor vermin.
Mussels? Shrimp? Lobster?
They are the food of the fisherman. If any appeared on the plates of my mother or her guests, the castle cooks would not see tomorrow. As for myself Saphiria cautiously peered over the pan, combing back loose strands of raven hair as if to prevent contaminating herself rather than the food.
Be as it may, scallops are a delicacy where I co from.
Delicacies are food that wouldnt sell by any other na.
Oh, really? Dimitry flipped the scallops one by one, crackling with renewed vigor as they returned to the grease. Well see if you keep that tone once you try so.
Saphiria imparted onto him a doubtful stare, but her attention waned before long. The silk of her carbon-sared dress hissed as she slid across the table nearer to him. Eyes gleaming with the light of a more interesting topic, she nudged him with her knee.
Were she any other woman, Dimitry might have misconstrued the gesture, but with Saphiria, the truth was abundantly clear. Truthfully, he cared little for the minutia of forging, but without Saphiria, heathens would overrun his colony as soon as the sorceress guild left. At the very least, he should indulge her. And who knew? The knowledge might co in handy.
Dimitry turned to her to show she had his full attention. Earlier, you said sothing about chills and casting. I cant wait to hear all about them.
Perhaps sensing sarcasm in his tone, Saphiria turned up her chin. Do you rember asking why guns were taking so long?
He did. The nervous anticipation wasnt sothing Dimitry could forget. For three days following the discovery of cast steel, he struggled to divert himself with minor tasks from dusk to dawn, pacing his tent when distractions ran dry, desperately awaiting the first functional gun prototypes. His understanding was that hundreds of failed casting attempts preceded the twenty-four barrels Angelikas platoon used to defeat the first wave of heathens. Its the barrels that are the problem, right?
Precisely. When we first began to cast them, the steel warped and shrank during consolidation. Most shattered with the first test charge.
Ive noticed. Truth be told, Ive been spending a lot of ti worrying theyll backfire on my troops.
Yours fears as well-founded. Little is known about cast steel, especially the sort that lts without heat. Saphiria leaped off the table and rolled a silvery cylinder from under a horseless wagon. But we are learning.
Standing over the barrel, Dimitry examined its smoothly sanded bore, the even muzzle. Nowhere near as impressive or reliable as a hand-forged voltech rifle, but the lack of bumps and cracks deserved recognition. Thats the barrel you use in the newest batch of guns, right?
No. Her hand brushed the surface gentler than one would a toddlers cheek. I have produced this one tonight. With chills.
Chills as in you had to ice it down or sothing?
She shook her head. Normally, molten tals shrink as they cool. The shrinkage creates fractures that compromise the integrity of the finished work. I believe they are why a barrel may explode upon firing. However, if we can anticipate where the fractures will form, my smiths can place chills to help shape the casting into its intended form.
I think I understand. Dimitry nodded. Very impressive.
I have not yet ntioned the impressive part.
Ah. Right.
Chills work by cooling the molten tal at vulnerable locations so that cracks do not form, but there is a problem. Since ltia produces molten steel no warr than the air, a normal chill will not work. Heat is irrelevant. We needed a different solution. Saphirias chest swelled with pride. And I have found it.
And whats that?
Solidia.
A spell?
Indeed. The enchantnts I had Katerina produce allow to control how fast the molten steel solidifies, much like a normal chill. We shant see so many failures going forward.
Dimitry paused. Extrapolating on the straightforward and often ridiculous nonclature of most spells, solidia likely induced the crystallization of liquids. It sounded dangerous. Deadly. Saphiria, promise youll get rid of those enchantnts and never make another like it.
The girls triumphant posture unraveled. She watched him, heartbroken. Why?
Crushing the girls ambitions pained Dimitry. Because because there are liquids inside your body. Zera forbid you get too close to a solidia enchantnt. If you do, Im not even sure whatll happen, but I promise you whatever it is, it wont be pretty. Promise .
I am aware! She leaned in so close that her face bordered his. Dimitry, you must weave a solidia enchantnt safe enough that I may entrust it to my blacksmiths. She retreated an inch. Please.
The suddenness of her request left Dimitry dumbfounded. And then he realized what had happened. He stroked his chin and chuckled, laughter growing louder and deeper. Saphiria was cleverfor her discoveries and for luring him into a conversation about work on his ti off. The latter sounded like sothing he might do. Alright. The modification for solidia shouldnt be that much different from ltia. Im sure we can figure sothing out.
Then I shall summon Katerina
Tomorrow. Dimitry tugged back on Saphirias arm. Unlike us, most people like to do things other than work. Let them rest tonight.
Perhaps realizing that calling people from their celebration to serve would be a poor publicity stunt, Saphiria rejoined him. They silently gazed about the workshop.
A cabinet full of ltia-enchanted drill bits for boring. Basins overflowing with experintal liquids for quenching. Carrying cases for heat treatnt. An upright wooden basin, massive enough to one day fit a cannon. Trays of experintal naval mine self-ignition chanisms and a mound of cast steel shards tucked into the corner. Every project managed and advanced by Saphiria in a desperately short amount of ti.
Youve been doing a lot, Dimitry said. Honestly too much.
A labor of love is no labor at all. Besides, the sorceresses will depart soon. We must be ready for whatever may co.
You know, I used to think that guns were simple iron tubes. That all we needed was tal pellets and so black powder. That the nobles would co to help like they promised. That when we reached the coast, everything would just fall into place.
Saphirias eyes trailed a loose bark plate on the roof, which shimmied with each whistling gale. All is simple at its conception. My ancestors thought they perfected iron when they forged from it the first crude blade, yet centuries have passed and we still do not know what more there is to know. Cast steel is no different. Our discoveries here are naught but shallow scrapes at the edge of truth. The fruit dangling to the forest floor. Just as my ancestors could not have predicted the future, she said, neither can you.
tal is one thing, and peoples lives are another. If it wasnt for you, I Im not sure what I would have done. The heathens will have turned this place into a graveyard before the turn of the month. You have given us a fighting chance.
That is only natural. As future queen, it is my duty to secure the realm.
Though Saphiria spoke in concrete terms, of hobby and iron, of responsibility and stewardship, of defense and safety, Dimitry sensed there was another factor in her unfaltering dedicationno less salient than the restthat pushed her this far. I guess what I want to say is that everything youre doing here ans a lot to . Really. If this place ever becos anything great, it was because of you.
It will. I know it.
A minute they sat there, bathing in the nights ambiance. Muffled gunfire bellowed in the distance, frigid gales poked from chinks in the walls, and a sleep running hare scratched its hind claws against the linings of a silk cloak worth more than most peoples houses.
Dimitry? Saphiria whispered.
Yeah?
While I do not wish to pass judgnt on your cooking
The stench of carbonized shellfish reached his nostrils. He jerked forward and glanced sideways to discover that the scallops were now scorched black like the oil burning inside the pan. Ah, shit.
Dimitry trashed the overcooked scallops with a heavy heart. To keep his promise to Saphiria, he pan-fried a second batch, this ti to gold-crusted perfection. They traversed ankle-high snow as they ate, Leandra trailing close behind. The court sorceress resigned to carrying the royal hare. Though she did not look pleased when the critter awoke and kicked her in the stomach during a frantic breakout attempt, a quick spell zonked Cecilia right out again.
Thankfully, Saphiria was too busy devouring scallops to notice the blatant animal abuse. Most of the dallions had gone by the ti they reached her lodgings. Only a few remained inside the pan.
Exposed to the cold and a massive tent flap whipping against his lumbar spine, Dimitry held the land mine casing she ate from. While no one could see them at the edge of the settlent restricted to the heiress, half a dozen royal knights in gold plate holding the periter, Dimitry felt like a butler holding a tray for his lord. Which was mostly true. Saphiria was the princess and he was her archbishop. He also cooked for her. Still, she should have the courtesy to share. Hey.
Mm? Saphiria mumbled through a full mouth.
Im glad youre enjoying yourself, but mind saving so for ?
With her heirloom dagger, she nudged the smallest of three dallions towards him. There. We are even.
Clearly, the unfair gastronomical math of female dining companions did not limit itself to Earth. Dimitry popped the scallop into his mouth. His teeth crunched through the crispy exterior and glided through tender, buttery sweet flesh. Perfection indeed.
Saphiria finished the rest and gazed longingly into the pan, staring at her reflection in the grease as if willing the contents to replenish.
Not bad, right?
I am surprised. I did not know you were a capable cook.
Her complint gave Dimitry an unexpected boost to his pride. With the girl sourcing and preparing most of their als during the escape from Amalthea, he rarely got to show off his bachelor cooking. If anyone lives alone long enough theyll eventually pick up on a few tricks. Besides, its hard to ss up when the ingredients are this fresh.
And yet you managed.
Because you distracted with tal talk.
Saphiria giggled. Indulge again soti.
Ill get us so Razor clams and mussels ready for tomorrow. Maybe we can rig together so chowder.
Very well. I eagerly await an invitation to your banquet. Idly swinging her trunk in the green moonlight, Saphirias gaze prodded his face for an extended mont. She broke eye contact and pivoted towards her tent.
Wait, Dimitry said.
She glanced back.
Before you go, can I get my clothes back? Its pretty cold.
Her indigo irises widened as if he had accused her of an unforgivable cri. Saphirias arms opened, unraveling Dimitrys uniform, which ballooned in the wind like a parachute behind her back. She folded the excessively decorated shirt down the center and held it forward.
Dimitry reached for the article, but a glimpse of the girls arm gave him pause. Sowhere on Saphirias wrist, camouflaged atop pale skin, clung a dungeon artifact. The pairing band. It had radiated light when he weaved a modified enchantnt. A frantic azure before each disaster, and a tranquil blue that predicted stability.
Saphiria looked to where he was looking. She slunk back.
This wasnt the first ti Dimitry had seen her react aversively to any ntion of the artifact. Before they were among others, but now was the perfect opportunity to ask. Saphiria, about the pairing
I did not an for it to turn out this way.
The quaver in her voice rattled Dimitry. What way? Is sothing wrong?
She bit her lip, scanning the gaps between snow-covered tents before pulling him into her own.
Dimitry jerked inside, stumbling when his foot snagged a gown clumped on the carpet-padded floor. He made his way past bags of dresses and makeup and whatever else the queen had delivered from Malten so her daughter could maintain appearances in these God-forsaken woodlands.
I never should have given you Fathers artifact, Saphiria said. They have cursed us.
Cursed us? He glanced at where his own pairing band was, imperceptible on his wrist. It didnt seem to do anything, and he didnt feel any different. Im not sure Im following.
Can you not hear them? Those whispers? That cold voice that seeks to drag you into the ground with each wicked incantation?
Hearing things? Dimitrys heart broke, and soon it raced. Though he wasnt a psychiatrist and the symptoms ca suddenly, for a girl in her twenties to develop hallucinations suggested a culprit whose presence had wrecked countless lives with paranoia parading as truth: schizophrenia. Can you tell about this voice? Does it mimic your thoughts? Threaten you? Tell you to hurt yourself?
The words themselves are unintelligible, she said, but when they speak, it is as though they are pleading with . Warning .
Warning you? About what?
About you. Saphiria retreated to the furthest ends of the space. I cannot explain it, yet it is as if you are an interloper, a guest who lives in my ho uninvited. Like you are plotting my end from within. I resist, but no matter how much I try to ignore the feeling or pull at the band, it clings to my arm and thoughts no less tightly. Please forgive .
He gulped, but like a reflux patient trying to swallow the globus sensation in their throat, the discomfort only worsened. Why would her artifact be trying to get rid of him? Look, Saphiria. I believe you and I dont bla you. You were only trying to help. Now lets figure this out. Did anything else happen that might give us a clue?
At first, they were forked like wishbones except inscribed in black.
What was?
I know not. Pacing, Saphiria made shapes with her fingers. They flashed into my mind while I was apprehending the poison vendors in Malten.
Her explanation only confused him more. How about those words you heard? You said they were unintelligible, but maybe it was another language. Im a bit of a polyglot. Try .
She shook her head. It was not another language. One phrase was familiar to . You had spoken of it before.
Which is?
Carbon dioxide.
She was right. Dimitry had tutored Saphiria on carbon dioxide during the voyage from Coldust. Was the band feeding off her mories? What about the others? Any that you can rember?
Thermal degeneration. Formal acid.
Thermal degeneration? Acid? Dimitry had never told her about acids or bases, and this world had centuries to go before a chemist would catalog their properties. Thinking back, if Saphiria heard those words during the thanol poising incident, the only person who would have known about them was
His eyes widened.
Fiddling with her hands, Saphiria watched him rush across the room. Are you leaving? The guilt in her voice was heartrending.
Dimitry plucked so charcoal from the makeshift hearth and dropped the overturned pan he held onto the ground. Im not going anywhere.
The girl released a trapped breath as she teetered closer.
One by one, Dimitry scratched jet-black lines of carbon onto the silvery cast steel surface. A double-bonded oxygen, an alcohol group, and a lone hydrogen. The three ford a Y-shaped molecule around a central carbon. Is this what you saw?
Saphiria gasped. You saw it too?
No, he said, but I know what it is.
What?
Its formic acid.
Formic acid? she whispered. What does that an?
It ans your artifact it shows you inside my mind.
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