Kingdom of the Weak 63 Onto the Sky Barge

"What to do, what to do?" In a high tower, a man paced to and fro in front of a large crystal, muttering to himself.

"Master?" a voice came from the crystal, uncertain.

"Just… do the usual." The man waved his hand. "I don't want to bother the king about this little… hiccup. We'll simply have to find new agents at the target point."

"What sort of creatures should I target this time?" the voice at the other side of the crystal asked.

"Just… pick the strongest creatures you can get your sights on." The man waved dismissively.

"The strongest creature? Are you sure?"

There was a short silence.

***

When Mindy and the twenty scroll-students helping her finished the first Sky Barge, the final results did not look like the drawing she showed Remian weeks ago.

"We still get Guild Points for it, though, don't we? We did everything the mission said." The scroll-students asked anxiously.

"Of course. It flies, doesn't it?" Mindy pointed out.

That, it did. It had six gasbag envelopes instead of just one, and there was a stabilizing frame both on the envelopes above and the giant platform below, and the platform itself seemed to be made of six different Tier 5 half-crates tied together into one, but it flew, and when it did, it stayed in one piece.

"Tier 5.6, just as I promised." Mindy told Remian. "They're made of different parts joined together for the sake of maintenance and flexibility. That way, if something goes wrong, we can basically just remove the damaged segment and fix it without having to take down the whole airship. Also, if it's all just one part and there's a weight imbalance, the ship's hull is going to strain, and I understand that you intend to leave cargoes here for long periods of time. I'd rather not strain the hull for long, so let's just avoid the strain altogether by separating the weight loads. You're not putting anything up there that a Tier 5 platform can't handle, are you?"

"Even if I wanted to, I obviously can't, any more." Remian eyed the Sky Barge hesitantly. "The important thing is, will it be stable?"

"More stable with joined parts than with a single whole. At least, as far as structural integrity goes. I can't say it will be more comfortable, but it's at least less likely to break." Mindy cleared her throat. "Besides, what's the biggest thing you plan to put on an airship? A cow?"

"A Guard Tower." Remian cleared his throat. "I was hoping we could build them in town and just drop them down where we need them later."

"You can just hang that to the bottom of the Tug when it's ready. The Sky Barge is not a suitable ship for deploying towers." Mindy shook her head. "Use the Tug."

"We don't HAVE a Tug."

"Then I better finish up with this phase and get on that one right away, shouldn't I?"

Remian thought for a bit. "We still need to prepare for this week's Beast Wave. Markus tells me it's likely to be bad."

"How does he know?"

"He's the military officer. When it comes to combat strategy, he should know best." Remian shrugged.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Mindy asked.

"Another Tier 5 like Spike?" Remian guessed. "Can the XL Ballista handle that?"

Mindy froze. She slowly shook her head. "Not as it is, no. What about the 5X?"

"The what?"

"The bigger, BIGGER Ballista that Arnold was going to work on? The one five times bigger than the Ballistae at the Guard Towers?"

"Ah. So that's why you call it 5X." Remian nodded. "I was thinking of it as the XXL Ballista."

"Whatever. Is it ready?" Mindy eyed the Sky Barge. "I think the Sky Barge can load six of those."

Could a Tier 5 air platform segment carry a Tier 4.5 Ballista? Certainly.

"Unfortunately, the 5X isn't ready." Remian admitted. "Arnold has been busy with the Jade mine's elevators."

"Can we get it ready today?" Mindy asked. "The Beast Wave is due today, isn't it? That's why I rushed the Sky Barge."

"You were expecting it?" Remian was amazed.

"Of course. The Beast Wave always comes during the weekend. It's come for as long as I can remember. Why would it change now?" Mindy sounded like she stated the obvious.

Exactly. Markus had warned him earlier too, though not in the same words. Why would it change?

Because the people calling it were gone. Wasn't that going to be case?

Mindy, like Markus, clearly didn't think so.

Unfortunately, Arnold, like Remian, did. Thus the 5X remained in development.

"Well, hopefully it won't be something like Spike. Maybe it'll just be a blitz of Tier 3 and Tier 4 light Wilds. Better yet, just a swarm of Tier 3's." Remian said.

Mindy shook her head. "It's definitely going to be something like Spike. We're going to lose the town."

"Hey! Don't give up before the battle even starts!" Remian protested. "We still have time to prepare."

"Not much." Mindy glanced about. "But perhaps there is something."

"What?"

"About a hundred Tier 2 Blessing of the Wind Scrolls might do it." Mindy thought. "I'll also need my crew, and Charlie's aid. Some magic crystals could help too."

"Where are we going to get so many Wind Blessing scrolls…?" Remian stared in a daze.

"We have the materials for it, don't we?" Mindy asked.

"I think so, yes."

"Then we better get to Inscribing, fast!"

The entire celebration for the completion of the Sky Barge was shortened to a quick toast and a few cheers before the whole crew was set to help Remian and Mandy Inscribe Wind Blessing Scrolls. Over the next few hours, they were scrambling about gathering and refining materials, grinding and churning and sifting and mixing. Remian and Mindy churned out Scrolls and stack after stack of completed Wind Blessing Scrolls began to line up.

"Roving Albatross spotted! Charlie's coming!" reports came in from the airport.

"Smoke columns! The scouts warn of a Beast Wave!" more reports came in.

"How many columns?" Remian asked in between scrolls.

"Just one!"

That didn't sound too bad. Just one… it might really be just a few small critters…

"Second column! It's a two-column… no, wait! There's three!"

Okay, maybe a few big critters…

"Four!! It's a four-column Wave! Prepare the town for imminent battle…"

"Stop! It's not four! It's five! This is a Five Column Beast Wave! Everyone prepare for evacuation! We have to get out of town!"

Remian shut his eyes. Five columns. That could only mean one thing.

Markus and Mindy were right. Something like Spike was going to attack the town, very likely the western settlement, tonight. But where was he going? To town? There wasn't anything much there, just cleared land, a smelter, and the foundations of an airport. No, if they were looking to target people, the only place they could hit was…

Here. They were going to hit the western settlement. Therefore…

Slowly, Remian took a deep breath. Slowly, he let it out. Then, he opened his eyes and pointed.

"Everyone! Load your stuff onto the Sky Barge! You'll be staying on the airship tonight!"

"How much stuff?" Aren asked.

"Everything." Remian said grimly. "Pack everything you need in half an hour. Prepare to move into the mines for good."

"What does that mean?" Zania asked him.

"I think this is it." Aren told his wife. "We're moving. I don't think we're coming back."

"It's okay. The mines aren't exactly comfortable yet, but between the two, there's more than enough space for our entire clan. As for the rest… we can handle it ourselves." Zania glanced back at the western settlement. "This place was always meant to be temporary. We knew that."

"Yes. We did." Aren nodded. "Now, let's hurry."

Chapter end

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