Engines of Obsession: Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Quite the Sight

It was just an hour shy of sunset by the time Turner and the others arrived at Durocor, after they'd disembarked and gone through customs. Although smaller than Edsenburg, the ancient city somehow felt grander and more impressive to Turner.

The train had passed through the outer city, then under the outer walls to come to rest near the Nesting Gate on the southeast side of the city. Durocor shone in the reddish light of the setting sun, the pale cream of most of the walls and buildings lit up into a variety of colors, yet muted enough to not dazzle the eyes.

Turner wasn't a history buff, but he knew this city almost as well as Edsenburg, and liked it a lot more. Nora was the real expert, but she let him point out the landmarks to Martin and Milo, with the latter on the cart they'd rented.

"The outer walls are smaller, but newer," Turner explained, pointing them out. "But the inner walls, where we're headed, surround the old city. And it's a lot bigger than most old cities. This place was a huge city for the Old Empire... the inner walls were mostly built by their legions. A lot of the construction there is Imperial Concrete."

Milo winced as the cart hit a larger than normal bump. This cart had springs and a complex undercarriage to form a suspension, so the ride was much gentler, but it wasn't magic. It still jolted now and then, but was pretty good about keeping the cart even. It had also been surprisingly inexpensive.

"That's like the third or fourth time you've made a big deal about Imperial Concrete," Milo pointed out. "I know about the Empire of course, Pa taught us basic history, but nobody explained anything like that. Even we had concrete out in the boonies, for some of our foundations."

Nora broke in here, to explain the technical details. "Imperial Concrete is different." She gestured at the massive walls, surrounding a good square kilometer if Turner had to guess. "It let the Empire build massive structures that took centuries for others to replicate. It's durable and resists crumbling... it can even self-repair small cracks and lines, over time. It was thought alchemical for a long time, but it turns out it's just an unknown chemical reaction."

She gestured to the south. "Apparently, the Cretian Alliance can still make it, and it requires a material only found in their territory, but it's expensive to make in massive amounts. Alchemists have made a rough equivalent, but it's even more expensive, so most smaller structures just use stone or a cheaper, less durable concrete."

Turner nodded, and as the group headed toward the inn he'd picked out, he resumed his tour. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of stone mingled with the smell of grapes and the faint sting of alcohol.

"The city is known for its wine," he pointed out. "But also for the university here. It's not as varied as Grunthal, but it's probably the best you'll get for a pure mechanical engineering school out here in the Commonwealth."

Turner pointed to the west. "The vineyards in the north of the city irrigate with the river, the Wesle. The rest bring in fresh water using the Old Empire's aqueducts. They're one of the reasons this place stood during the fall of the Empire. The waste from all the industry here makes the river's outflow unsafe. And it also stinks a lot worse than where we are right now."

Nora laughed, and even Martin smiled faintly. Milo, with his position on the cart keeping his head back, had other things on his mind.

Milo pointed upward, "Is that an airship?"

Turner's eyes lifted, spying what Milo had seen. The ship had just broken from the low clouds above, trailing wisps and streamers of moisture along the hull. The massive alchemically-powered engines on either side thrummed with power, and Turner imagined he could hear the roar they must surely be making as the ship decelerated, despite the kilometer or more between them..

It only looked vaguely like a boat, he noted. He'd seen airships before, but many were made for water landings. This one was bigger, and even at this distance he thought he could make out gun ports on the side. A warship? Here?

"Yes," Nora answered. "A big one, too. Probably docking here for bad weather." She pointed to one of the four white towers that stretched above the inner walls, massive gears ratcheting in clacking and grinding that sounded like distant gunfire from this range. Twin booms spread apart, making room for the larger craft.

Turner caught the briefest glimpse of a flash of light, wondering. Then he realized that the signals must be going back and forth, but directed as they were he wasn't at the right angle to see them. He watched the almost white gas bag above the ship ripple, shifting to a pale grey. He didn't know why it did that, but it always fascinated him when he saw one change color.

"Come on," Turner said, nodding ahead. "We can look around more later, but if they're docking that quickly... like Nora said, it's probably incoming weather. Maybe that rain we outran on the train."

Martin, at the reins of the cart, gave the donkey a gentle flick to speed things up. Milo would have to deal with some jostling, but Nora didn't seem worried it'd injure him more, so it was probably okay.

Turner hurried alongside, and drew the hood of his cloak up. Just in time, as it turned out, as the first drizzle began to fall. It was already a semi-cool day, for the season, just the sort of hint at autumn that would happen now and then. This weather would make the night chilly, he was sure.

"Wow," Milo muttered, still staring at the airship as he pulled up his own hood. It wasn't a surprise to Turner. Even he had to admit that the warship was a spectacle, and Milo likely hadn't ever seen an airship at all.

Nora broke into his thoughts, "That's why we're here, you know." She gestured with her new staff, pointing it to where the ship was lining up with the aerial dock. "This is the departure point of the Scarlet Savior, Tristan Middleton's airship. If there are any clues as to what happened, we have to start here."

Shaking his attention away from the warship, Milo grunted, "Yeah, but it's been ten years. I'm sure most people have already looked all over. Do you think Blakely's name will open doors here, or get us killed?"

Turner exchanged a look with Nora. That was uncharacteristically bitter and pessimistic for Milo. The young hunter's tone had been jovial most of the trip, but this was the first hint that he resented being bedridden.

Fortunately, Nora had a reply for that. "That's true, but we also know his true purpose. We'll have to be careful, yes, but we have a few other advantages. For one thing, we also know that Elina Vale accompanied him. That is - for some reason - not common knowledge."

It relieved Turner to see Milo's frown turn into thoughtful curiosity. Seriously, the kid would have been a great student, he thought to himself.

"Okay," he allowed, "That is kind of strange, but I'm not sure how that will help us." He winced as the cart hit another bump, transitioning onto the older roads. These were durable, but they were also two millennia old. Even though they'd been patched and repaired constantly over the years, some irregularities snuck in.

Nora continued, "We also have something none of the others had, concerning Vale and her disappearance." She gestured with her staff toward Turner, who was sidestepping a hurrying young boy rushing to get out of the rain.

The drizzle had gotten more steady, drowning out the pleasant smells with the musty rain. It didn't smell right, here. The distraction kept Turner from answering right away, but he did make a grimace of distaste.

"It's not something I look forward to," he admitted. "Not because it will be unpleasant, but because I should have done this years ago, back when I first arrived on the frontier."

Nora nodded, pulling her own hood down to better shield herself from the sudden gust of wind that sprayed rain into her face. "True. I kept telling you to do it, but I understand."

A frown of annoyance hit Milo again, and even Martin was giving a glare... but Milo's eyebrows shot up. "You know something about Vale that others don't, Turner?"

Turner sent Milo a little smirk, letting him know that Nora and he had been trying to get him to think it through. "Of course. A few people knew I was connected to her, but there are some things I didn't answer even as a kid."

"Is Vale's house here, or something?" Martin asked, now curious as well.

Turner shook his head, "Vale's house was - and still is - a day's travel or so to the south. That's been picked over plenty already. But now that I've realized she was on the ship that left this city, I remembered something else that is here, that I think might be able to help us... if they aren't mad at me for waiting this long to visit. It's not Vale's house."

He lowered his voice, moving closer to the cart. As soon as he noticed a lack of anyone close enough to eavesdrop, he finished his thought.

"It's her little sister."