Aether Engineering

Chapter 34

Hydrabridge

The Voidlands North of Maston

Silas was tired, drenched, shivering, and caked in mud when Hydrabridge finally came into view lit with a dawn tinge. The storm continued, but Hydrabridge had pulled through the worst of it.

Silas had been expecting a town much like Maston, but this was not the case. Where Maston’s walls were made from a hodgepodge of whatever wood could be found, Hydrabridge was more of a fortress. Its walls were higher and stronger. Though it was technically made from wood, that wood had a familiar shimmer surrounding it, pure mana. At the base of the town’s walls, monster corpses could be seen laying in the grass. Drawn in by their focus on sensing humans no doubt.

“Those walls aren’t aether constructs.”

Silas and Kate both turned towards Myles at the same time.

“What do you mean they aren’t constructs?” Silas asked.

“They’re surrounded by pure mana!” Kate added.

Myles shook his head. “They’re made of wood. Wood is almost never used in aether engineering.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Wood seems like a much easier material to work with.”

Myles sighed. “Wood is alive—or at least it was at some point—that makes things more complicated. Each individual piece of wood has different properties even if they come from the same tree. If you put the wrong rune on, things can go unpredictably wrong.”

Silas knew that the military took control of the vast majority of mined metal across the province. He was starting to see why. “How do things usually go wrong?”

Myles grimaced. “I’ve heard of a group of engineers who tried to make armor constructs out of a potent form of drakewood. When they carved a fire rune into the wood, it came alive, grew branches and strangled them.”

Before Silas had managed to get that picture out of his head, he saw a flicker of motion on the top of the wall. As the figure came into view, Silas had already dragged Kate and Myles behind a nearby bush, a thorn bush to his annoyance.

“What’s wrong? It’s just a guard.”

Kate was right. On the top of the wall, a guard walked along keeping a close eye on the area outside the walls. The blue band that circled the arm of his uniform showed he was no hired shikari or part of a citizen militia. This was a trained provincial soldier.

Silas kept the others quiet with a gesture and closely watched the soldier. Primrose had warned them to be on guard around the minister of education. Silas intended to go into that meeting in the most controlled manner possible.

As the guard walked towards their hiding spot, Silas noticed the guard’s body tense up. Only a moment later, the guard was turned towards them, palm raised in a threatening gesture and pure mana already commuting through his body.

“Who’s there? Show yourselves!”

Silas walked out and gave a quick salute in traditional military fashion. It was a poor imitation to be honest. He had never been taught the proper way to salute, a detail that seemed a lot more important when a trained soldier seemed to be on the edge of attacking him. “We have orders to report to Rufus Lance. We are students from Maston academy.”

The soldier took them in. His posture didn’t relax, but he must have made note of their uniforms complete with white bands around their arms where the soldier had a blue band. “Strange time for trainees to come to Hydrabridge.”

The proclamation was made with such a neutral voice that Silas couldn’t tell if the soldier believed them or not.

Without a pause, the soldier took out a metallic device and pointed it at the sky. A yellow flare went up into the air and two more soldiers appeared on the wall a moment later. When they came around, the first guard hopped down from the top of the wall, he landed with only a slight bend of his knees from what must have been at least a two-story fall.

Only when he got closer did Silas notice the two stripes on the soldier’s band. They had chanced across an officer.

The man walked towards them confidently though not with arrogance. He didn’t drop his commuted armor for an instant. Silas noted the guards red hair as being somewhat unique.

“I am Lenas, an officer tasked with ensuring the security of Hydrabridge. We are currently on high alert due to the storm and recent events. You will walk with me around the city walls. I will take you to the minister’s camp. They will be able to validate your identities there.”

Lenas’ words gave no room for argument, but despite that, Silas could see from the man’s tone that he wanted to see the best in them. Silas had no illusions as to how far that might get them though. The bags under Lenas’ eyes spoke of a long shift. Silas was reminded of the remnants of monsters he had made note of at the base of the wall. He redoubled his intentions to comply with the man.

Being escorted towards Rufus was about as far away from the situation Silas desired as was possible, but there were still some factors that Silas could control. Silas, Myles, and Kate, all introduced themselves to Lenas and made sure to remain in his sight and generally act as relaxed and compliant in the situation as they possibly could.

The walk took some time and as they passed multiple gates, Silas quickly realized their destination was not in Hydrabridge itself. What awaited them when they came around to Hydrabridge’s northern side was still surprising though.

A temporary camp was setup a few hundred yards to the north of Hydrabridge. There, soldiers milled about in a disciplined but urgent manner. A large flag with the image of a book surrounded by a blue diamond loomed over the camp hoisted on a large pole.

The two soldiers who had been following them along the top of the wall joined them as they moved out of its shadow.

Silas felt distinctly awkward as they were escorted into the army camp. They were able to resolve the situation quickly though. It seemed that the camp’s guards at least had been informed to expect the trio.

Before he turned back towards Hydrabridge, Lenas leaned in and spoke in a kind voice. “Sorry for doubting you. Wasn’t expecting trainees to be sent through an aether storm just for some practical experience, especially now.”

Silas, Myles, and Kate, all gave him assurances that they understood before Lenas turned to walk away. He seemed to think twice about that though and turned back to them for some parting advice. “If you’re going to see the minister you should be forewarned. The mask can be a bit intimidating.”

Silas didn’t have long to wonder what that message meant. They were quickly marched into the command tent, right under the flagpole that held the banner of a book.

Upon walking into the tent, Silas felt completely out of place. He, Myles, and Kate were all seeping water, and covered in mud, not to mention the numerous bruises they had accrued from their encounter with the stormbird.

In stark contrast, the three people in the tent were all wearing pristine, seemingly freshly laundered uniforms. Their combined presence certainly came across as intimidating. On the left, a powerfully built woman with a spear that seemed to be made entirely of a silver metal, and completely covered in runes, was stooped over a table covered in reports. On the right, a man stood leaning against one of the wooden beams watching them neutrally. He had no visible weapons on him, but some detail about him seemed daunting. His commuted armor, Silas realized, was what that detail was. It wasn’t made of pure mana like the other two in the room, and it whirled around him with ferocity.

The one that immediately drew attention though was the man in the center who faced them with his hands behind his back. The man was slim of build, but that was about all Silas could tell of his features. His face was covered with a mask that seemed like some sort of dark wood.

The image of a roomful of strangled engineers returned to Silas as he looked at the mask. It was covered with three large glowing runes scrawled across the mask in white paint where holes should have been for the eyes and mouth. The rest of the mask was covered in a complex web of runes too, but those were so close to the color of the mask that Silas could barely make them out.

The worst part was that Silas could feel the mask having an effect. The air in the tent felt heavier, almost hostile. Silas found himself having to resist the urge to start commuting pure mana in resistance.

“Welcome!” The masked man spoke in a bright cheerful way so adverse to his appearance that it immediately put Silas off. “I’m so happy you could…What Are You Doing Here!”

As the masked man said those words, he whipped out a sword that Silas hadn’t even seen a moment ago and charged forwards. Silas started to move into the iron turtle, but he wasn’t nearly fast enough. Before he had even reacted, the man had passed between him, Myles, and Kate, and swung his sword at the empty space near the tent entrance.

Silas had a brief moment of confusion before the blade was intercepted by a scythe seemingly made of pure darkness held by a familiar figure.

Kate reacted first. “Reah!”

Even with her quick reaction speeds though, Kate was too slow to do anything. The two soldiers who had been standing at the edges of the tent had already moved between the trio and the fight between the masked man and Reah. Seeming to be more interested in keeping them safe than helping the minister.

The minister of education drew back. “Why Are You Here, Reaper!?”