Delve

Chapter 207: Council

The early morning sun felt warm on Rain’s armor as the reds and oranges of the sunrise gave way to the pale blue of the day to come. A handful of puffy clouds played on the horizon, the last reminders of the storm that had accompanied them here. The air itself was bitterly cold and heavy with the scent of salt, but the wind was low and the waves were gentle, lapping quietly against the iceberg beneath him.

Slowly, the haze faded from Rain’s eyes behind his visor, and he came back to himself with a start.

Where...?

Looking around, there was no sign of the Warden or Citizen Barstone. Even the Citizen’s ship was gone, though he spotted it as he turned, the frigate floating peacefully with the rest of the fleet, as if it had never left. Ameliah, Vanna, Samson, Tarny, and Sana were standing in a line beside him, dazed expressions on their faces as they stared out at the now completely blue horizon. According to his HUD, it was just after seventh bell. He’d lost over an hour.

“Hey...” Rain said, his voice coming out as a croak.

Ameliah stirred, then jerked. She gasped, raising her bow and dropping into a crouch as she swiveled her head from side to side.

“Where’d she go?”

“I don’t know,” Rain said, looking at her, then shifting his eyes to Vanna as she gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. “The Warden pulled something out of Velika, and then... Shit, Velika!”

Rain whirled, his boots crunching against the ice as he dashed toward the crumpled form lying at the center of the platform. Detection promptly informed him it was a person, not a body, and he relaxed slightly, crouching down and gently rolling her over. Behind him, he heard a startled shout as Tarny snapped out of the trance, followed by a high-pitched yelp from Sana.

“Captain?” Samson asked, speaking over their confused murmurs. “What’s happening? What happened to the Warden?”

“How much does everyone remember?” Rain asked, rising and looking at Ameliah, who had followed him. She knelt to check on Velika, but Rain had already put the ex-Citizen out of his mind. She was unconscious, but breathing, with snow and frozen drool crusting her face. Had she been just anyone, he’d have feared frostbite, but there was no way regular ice could hurt someone like her.

“I...don’t know,” Ameliah said. “After the Warden stopped Barstone, she put everyone in a trance or something, then she started talking to me...reading my mind.” She crossed her arms, rubbing her elbows. “She wanted to know about Ascension and why I joined. After that, she told me something...something I’m not sure I wanted to know.” There was a brief pause as she struggled, her emotional distress clear from the trembling intensity of her soul.

Rain took a step toward her. “Hey.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ameliah said, her soul quieting as she pressed down whatever was bothering her. She shook her head, then looked back at Vanna. “We talked a bit more after that, but then she stumbled, and I had to catch her before she fell. She thanked me, then said Rain was three fries short of a Happy Meal, whatever that’s supposed to mean.” She shrugged at him. “She also said she was jealous and that I should never, ever, EVER let him go.”

Rain’s thoughts, already reeling from the Happy Meal comment, sputtered to a halt. As he worked to form a reply, he noticed that Sana was turning pink again, but fortunately, Vanna came to his rescue.

“This doesn’t make sense,” she said, hugging her arms close to her chest. “After Vatreece did...whatever she did...to Barstone, she was talking to me. It was everyone else who was in a daze, including you.” She uncrossed her arms to point at Ameliah, then spread them wide in a gesture of hopeless bewilderment. “She kept asking me about my past. Like, who I was, where I came from, and how I ended up second in command of Ascension before I was even awakened. Then, just like you said, she stumbled, except I was the one to catch her. And then, after she thanked me, I was just...here.”

“So, this is the power of a platinumplate,” Samson said, clearly disturbed from his tone and the way he was resting a hand on the pommel of his sword. “My experience was much the same as Vanna’s. I believe the Warden spun our minds into distinct, hallucinated realities. Terrifying. Terrifying to think that the world I saw was naught but fiction. Tarny? Officer Sana? Did the Warden speak to you as well?”

“I...yes,” Sana said, straightening herself up and tugging on her jacket. “Yes, she did.”

“And me,” Tarny said, nodding. “Now, thinking back, it seems ridiculous that she’d want to talk to a lowly Beacon, but it seemed so natural then. It felt perfectly reasonable for her to want to know what I thought about Ascension—about what we were doing and why we were doing it.” He looked at Rain. “It was like a dream.”

Rain shivered, but not from the cold.

Mental Ward was active in the rotation, but if she had a piercing skill...

...

I should have tried Aura Focus! Why didn’t I think to try Aura Focus?!

*pop*

“Ah!” several people screamed.

[Hello!]

“Where the hells were you?!” Rain demanded of the slime that had just splatted atop his head, losing what little composure he’d been managing to maintain.

[Dozer talk Grannybrain!] Dozer said, quivering with excitement and clinging to Rain’s helmet as he moved. [Ask many whats! Ask how Dozer am be Dozer! Confuse!!1!]

Rain reeled, echoing Dozer’s sentiment and ignoring the errant ‘1’ in the string of exclamation points. “Dozer says he was talking to the Warden...” he said, trailing off. Reaching up, he dislodged the slime with a loud sucking sound, depositing him instead on his shoulder as his thoughts continued to churn.

Dozer should have been in my soul when Vatreece popped in, but he wasn’t. I didn’t even NOTICE!

Someone began to talk, but Rain raised his hands, making a shushing sound as he closed his eyes. He began examining his thoughts, turning each one over and checking it for any lingering influence. There was nothing.

...

Filth, that doesn’t mean it’s not there...

[⟬filth⟭!]

“Um, Custodian Rain, sir,” Officer Sana said hesitantly.

Still in a daze, Rain tore his eyes open to look at her. “What?”

Sana came to a stop, hugging her woolly jacket tight about herself. “She, uh, Warden Vatreece said... She said I should go with you, that is, um, if you’ll have me. She wants me to join Ascension. She said you’d need my help and that you were a good person.”

“She told me there were no good people,” Rain said, starting to feel a bit numb.

“She also wanted me to—”Sana began, but Ameliah cut her off urgently.

“Sorry, Rain, Nails is Messaging me. He says he tried you first, but that he couldn’t make a connection. Everyone is waking up now, and he says...” Ameliah held up a finger, tilting her head. “He says the Warden came down the stairs and froze Velika before she could slit Mahria’s throat, then...” She paused again, her finger still raised. “He says Vatreece wanted to talk to him, to give him some tips, Mentalist to Mentalist, plus a warning not to— Hold on. He says Halgrave just woke up, and he is not happy. Crap.”

[Crap!] Dozer agreed, busily climbing the side of Rain’s face to get back on top of his head.

“We need to get down there, Rain,” Ameliah said. “People are starting to panic.”

Rain clenched his jaw as he nodded.

If there’s a compulsion in there, worrying about it won’t help. Oh, gods.

He clapped his hands sharply to rip his thoughts away from that dark path, then began determinedly striding for the ramp. “All hands meeting! Ameliah, tell Nails we’re coming. Samson, drag Velika inside, will you? Vanna, please go get Jamus and Carten, then meet us in the command room. Sana, with me.” He plucked Dozer off his head with another sucking sound—the slime really didn’t want to go—then shoved him into the officer’s arms. “Here, keep him distracted, will you?”

Existential crisis later. Time to be the captain.

All told, it took the remainder of the morning for things to settle down, and finding a space big enough for Rain to speak with everyone at once had proven impossible. There were two hundred and forty-one people on Temerity at the moment, about half of them being part of Ascension proper, with most of the remainder being the new members’ families.

As Rain crossed the threshold to the council room, the distant rumble of hundreds of conversations dropped to nothing thanks to Subtlety’s old Muffler, sitting just inside the entrance. Closing the door for good measure, Rain fought back a tired sigh, reminding himself that he was still pretending to have his shit together. He didn’t stop himself from heading for the coffee carafe that had been set up on a side table, though.

“Captain,” Tarny said, the only other occupant of the room at the moment. He was busy going through a stack of papers at the conference table in preparation for the meeting scheduled to start in a few minutes.

“Tarny,” Rain replied.

Ignoring the jar of honey, he poured himself a mug of dark liquid, cracked his visor open just enough to down it, then poured himself another and downed that as well. After refilling the mug a third time, he made his way over to the chair beside Tarny, latching his visor back into place and collapsing into the unpadded seat with a grunt.

“You need to rest, Captain,” Tarny said without looking up.

“I am aware of that fact,” Rain said, setting the mug on the table.

“I’m cutting you off,” Tarny said, reaching over and sliding it away before Rain could stop him. “When was the last time you had a proper meal?”

Rain growled but didn’t move to reclaim his beverage. It wasn’t like the caffeine seemed to be doing anything. His exhaustion wasn’t physical. And as for food, he wasn’t even remotely hungry. His stomach was clenched tight with stress, leaving no room for anything solid.

“Hey,” Ameliah said, the Muffle rune having stopped him from hearing the door as she arrived.

“Hey,” Rain said back, weakly waving a hand.

Ameliah made for the coffee table, her helmet vanishing as Vanna and Samson trailed in after her. Samson started to close the door but stopped and pushed it back open to admit Tallheart, who had to duck to get his antlers through. The cervidian made his way around the table, stopping beside the chair to Rain’s right. He didn’t sit immediately, instead laying a heavy hand on Rain’s shoulder.

“How are you holding up, Tallheart?” Rain asked, placing his hand atop his friend’s. “You look as tired as I feel.”

Tallheart rumbled deeply. No further words were needed, apparently, and after a moment, he removed his hand to sit. Not long after, Ameliah sat beside him, placing a mug down in front of herself, then one in front of Tallheart before sliding a third to Rain.

“Thank you,” Rain said, cupping it between his hands as Tarny gave him a warning glance. He didn’t move to drink, though. Not because of his adjutant’s disapproval but because the door had opened again, admitting Atyl, Romer, and Smelt.

With that, they were all here, all the major council heads: Vanna for Administration, Samson for Defense, Atyl for Finance, Tallheart for Engineering, Romer for Education, Smelt for Logistics. Ameliah wasn’t a council head and didn’t want to be, but nobody was about to say she didn’t have a place here.

Tarny, meanwhile, was here to run the show. “Shall I start, Captain?” he asked, shuffling his papers and looking around as the last few people found their seats.

“Please,” Rain said, nodding to him.

“Very well,” Tarny replied, clearing his throat. “The High Council of Ascension is called to order to discuss the events of this morning and to chart our path forward.” Dispensing with any further formalities, he looked down at his stack of papers and began to summarize. “I will begin by ensuring we are all on the same page. All reports seem to agree that after the jolt of the DKE frigate docking with Temerity, a few minutes passed before the Warden’s arrival. As far as we know, she spoke with everyone on board simultaneously, either one-on-one or, in the case of a few families with young children, in small groups. In all instances, those she spoke to didn’t find her presence remarkable until afterward. Other than that, there were two, possibly three reports of actual compulsion, likely using the tier-three skill Command.”

Tarny gestured to Rain and Ameliah. “The Warden Commanded both Rain and Ameliah to open their visors, and in response, they immediately felt the desire to do so. She also Commanded Halgrave to ‘calm down,’ and despite being a Goldplate with maxed resistances, and despite the unresolved situation with Velika, he reports immediately feeling relaxed and at ease. From Halgrave’s perspective, the Warden also issued further Commands to Velika and Mahria to deescalate the situation, but Mahria’s perspective does not align with her father’s in this regard. She recalls Velika being torn off her with a wave of Mental energy. Thus, I cannot say for certain what really occurred. The last report of a Command comes from Argle Thrast, who says the Warden told him to, quote, ‘shut up.’ He says he was able to resist the compulsion, but that when she repeated her Command twice more, the third repetition left him entirely unable to make a sound. Given the Warden’s ability to subdue Halgrave, this last report is dubious to say the least.”

“That’s it?” Rain interjected in disbelief, having already heard Halgrave’s account in person. “There weren’t any more?”

“So it would seem,” Tarny said. “As you requested, I also asked people to compare their memories against each other, checking for discrepancies in their shared histories. Other than the diverging accounts during the Warden’s visit, everyone’s long-term memories appear fully intact.”

“I hate this!” Atyl said suddenly, clutching the arms of his chair as he violently kicked his feet in agitation, just slightly short of reaching the floor. “I hate thinking that everything I’m thinking might have been tainted! If I can’t trust my own mind, what can I trust?”

“I hear you,” Romer said unhappily, scratching at the narrow bridge of his nose. “If it makes you feel any better, I combed through the skill codices Rain acquired yesterday, plus everything we acquired in Vestvall and Three Cliffs. There is nothing in any of it to suggest that such subtle compulsion is possible. Command and its limitations are well documented, considering the number of times it has been turned to abuse. Unfortunately, I cannot say whether there are other skills with similar effects. The books did not list any hidden skills within the Psionics tree, nor did they have information on the tier-four capstone, let alone anything beyond it, if such things even exist.”

“We’re getting off track,” Rain said, raising a hand to forestall Ameliah, who looked like she wanted to say something. “Can we let Tarny finish before we move on?”

Ameliah nodded, then settled back to take a sip of her coffee.

After a motion from Rain, Tarny continued. “The Warden seemed mostly interested in acquiring information, though Rain’s were the only memories she explicitly stole. To everyone else, she merely asked questions, particularly to those with knowledge of the ideas Rain has shared with us. In particular, Staavo seems to have had the longest interview of anyone, though the exact timing of his discussion with the Warden is uncertain. In addition to being able to split her mind to a ridiculous degree, Vatreece also appears able to think at a highly accelerated rate. The best example of this is her conversation with Rain, which he will now summarize.”

“Thank you, Tarny,” Rain said, standing. As planned, he launched into a largely unabridged account of what he’d experienced. He glossed over a few things, but for the most part, he told them everything, including what had happened in his soul. The Council of Souls wasn’t ‘official,’ as far as Ascension’s codes were concerned, but everyone in this room knew basically what it got up to. Rain filled in a few details concerning his inner world when Atyl asked for clarifications, but he kept his responses short and to the point.

When he was finished, he sat back down, raising a hand to stop anyone from speaking just yet. “One more thing.” Lowering his palm to hover above the table, he moved his arm slowly to the side, causing a clatter as metal plates fell. Looking up to see mild surprise from everyone but Ameliah and Tallheart, who he’d already told, he gestured to the accolades before him. “These are the same ones I returned to the Watch. Shortly after the Warden departed, I discovered them in my possession. I don’t recall her giving them to me.”

“That’s disturbing,” Romer said. “Nice of her to return them, but disturbing how she did it.”

“One more one more thing,” Rain said, raising a finger. “Neither Ameliah nor Nails can contact me with Message, even if I explicitly concentrate on wanting to talk to them. They can’t reach Dozer, either, and it’s not a matter of intent, or even of Mental resistance. It’s a full and highly specific block, exactly like Thought Shell, except you aren’t supposed to be able to cast that on other people. Whatever it is, clearly, the Warden doesn’t want anyone else getting in my head. She assured me that I didn’t know anything too dangerous, but coming from a platinum, ‘too dangerous’ is relative.”

Does she trust my judgment in what I choose to share, or will I find myself tongue-tied if I try to talk about, say, napalm?

“I really, really, really, REALLY hate this,” Atyl said, letting his head fall into his hands.

Rain was thankful his visor hid his grimace. How do you think I feel?

Wordlessly, he began poking the accolades one by one, sucking them back into his soul. Once he felt up to it, he continued in as calm a tone as he could manage. “There may be other gaps in our memories that we are unaware of. Until we have proof to the contrary, we have to assume that there are more surprises waiting for us—compulsions she buried deep in our minds. The only comfort is that the Warden seemed to be, for lack of a more precise way to say it, on our side. She may have refrained from such things out of principle, as her reputation would suggest.” He closed his mouth before he could mention that even that couldn’t be trusted if memory manipulation was on the table. He gestured, covering his momentary pause. “That brings us to Ameliah and the practical tests I asked her to run. How did things go in the city?”

Ameliah shrugged. “I had no problem finding Branch Leader Everiss and telling her everything. She didn’t believe me about the Warden, even when I mentioned I knew both you and Officer Sana, but nothing stopped me from saying the words. Also, I wanted to mention earlier that while I was at the Guild, I checked the archive for the Psionics tier-four. They didn’t have any info on it, at least not with my access level.”

“You checked the what now?” Rain asked.

“The archive,” Ameliah said apologetically. “Most big Guild branches have one. They keep track of skill info, builds, class details, team composition, lair locations...all kinds of stuff. You have to meet a point threshold, and you can’t take any of it out with you, but there’s a lot more knowledge in there than there is in those cheap books you bought.”

“How did I not know about this?!” Rain demanded.

Ameliah grimaced. “Sorry, I was going to tell you, but I didn’t want to distract you yesterday, and I can guarantee you don’t have the Guildscore to get in. I’m barely over the line for basic, supervised access, and I’ve been at this way longer than you have.”

Rain deflated. “Damn it.”

Vanna cleared her throat. “What about the Watch office? Did they know anything?”

“It was empty when I got there,” Ameliah said, signing ‘sorry’ to Rain in hand code. “The note on the door said ‘back at noon,’ so I just moved on. I talked to a few constables next, and they either said Barstone was in his palace or out inspecting the fleet. The city’s buzzing with the news from Three Cliffs, but nobody has seen or heard anything from the DKE in terms of a response.”

“The constables really didn’t give you any trouble?” Tarny asked.

Ameliah shook her head. “No.”

“Well, that’s good at least,” Rain said, pushing aside his irritation over the archive. “I guess I got all the grumpy ones yesterday.” He’d been worried about Ameliah going into the city alone, especially since she wasn’t able to Message him if she got into hot water, though rationally, there was nothing to fear. Setting aside Velika—who was still unconscious—and Halgrave—who was even more shaken than Atyl, and understandably so—Ascension was quite possibly the most powerful force left in the city.

Unless there’s a sapphireplate on that Goldship. One thing at a time.

Working his jaw, he returned his focus to the rest of the council, then cleared his throat. “As I mentioned, Vatreece said she was waiting for Barstone to close his connection to the Citizens’ network before she struck. From that, and knowing Velika was able to disconnect herself, there’s a chance the Warden isn’t in complete control yet. Any Citizens who weren’t actively linked when she implanted herself with the Mantle may still be free.”

“I believe that is too much to hope for,” Samson countered, tapping a finger on the table. “Since Warden Vatreece does not seem to be bothered by us speaking freely, that suggests nothing we do can alter the outcome. Any Citizens she did not immediately ensnare, she would have collected promptly with the aid of the others. Even if she could not get them all, she has likely already acted. For all we know, the Potentate is dead and we are just waiting to hear about it.”

“Or the Warden is dead and we are just waiting to hear about it,” Tallheart rumbled darkly, catching the room’s attention.

“Right,” Vanna said after a moment. “This is Fecht we are talking about. Even with all the Citizens under her control, and even if she’s confident, Vatreece said she was dying. She could still lose.”

Rain rubbed his eyes through his visor. “I never thought I’d miss the 24-hour news cycle. If there was a battle somewhere, in the DKE or the Empire, how long would it take the news to get here?”

“Twenty-four hours is as good a guess as any,” Ameliah said with a noncommittal gesture. “There’s a platform here, and a busy one, too, not a stub connection like Brightside. We’re on the main transit path to Bellost from the heart of the DKE.”

“Right,” Rain sighed. “I keep forgetting about that. I’m too used to being off the grid. We could even send someone through to Estervale if we wanted to. The Watch has a Mindcaster there, and unless the Warden issued a gag order, they’d know if anything had happened anywhere in the DKE.”

“I’d just as soon no longer be in the DKE,” Smelt said, entering the conversation at last. “Are you really suggesting we hang around here to sate our curiosity, given what just happened to us?”

Rain shook his head. “You’re right; even if Vatreece shuts down Fecht, she might not bother with the Adamants in Three Cliffs right away. They could still come here. No, we’re leaving Barstone, the only question being how soon. Do we need any more supplies, or could we leave this instant?”

Smelt grunted. “We have enough to reach Fioe or Eastspar, even with the ice slowing us. After that, fresh water is going to be an issue. Tallheart, have you made the purifier I asked you for yet?”

“I have not,” Tallheart replied. “The integrity of the ship takes priority.” He shifted his gaze to Rain. “To repair it properly, I will need titanium, hmm, and time to learn its secrets.”

“All the more reason to find a safe harbor,” Samson said. “If we need more supplies, we can acquire them in Eastspar.”

“Um,” Atyl said, followed by a polite cough. “Our financial situation isn’t the best, actually.”

“Before I went into Barstone yesterday, you said we were fine,” Rain challenged. “I didn’t spend that much, did I?”

“Fine if all we’re buying is food and water,” Atyl clarified. “Not fine for titanium. I’d never heard of it until a week ago, which means it’s expensive. Adventurer expensive.”

“Priceless, actually,” Rain said, recalling that Atyl hadn’t been at the meeting where he and Tallheart had first gone over the details. He raised a hand, as it looked like Atyl was about to respond. “It’s not something you buy. As far as we know, only the Empire knows how to refine it. We’ll need to learn to make it ourselves, but that’s a longer-term project.” He turned to Tallheart. “If we keep the iceberg, can we make it to Eastspar without something breaking?”

“The enchantments on the hull are failing,” Tallheart said with an unhappy rumble. “There are small fractures throughout. The mana network has been disrupted.”

“So that’s a maybe,” Rain said, shaking his head. “Tarny, please take an action to have Bakal and Mahria reinforce the ice and try to streamline it a bit. It needs to hold together even if the ship doesn’t. Have them start as soon as we’re done here.”

“Noted,” Tarny said.

Rain looked back at Vanna. “Do we need to let anyone off?”

Vanna shook her head. “Nobody has asked to leave.”

“Do we want to let anyone off?” Ameliah asked. “Bakal is useful, and I admit he’s the tamest, cuddliest pirate I’ve ever met, but the stray Guilders? Thrast and Cessa? Thrast is trouble, and I barely know anything about Cessa beyond that she’s a Fire Mage.”

“Exactly,” Rain said. “She’s higher-leveled than Kettel or Ava, so it would be great to have her to help heat the boiler. Tarny, another action, see if she wants to join, assuming she qualifies, and if not, see if you can come up with a contract or something so we can hire her on a temporary basis. As for Thrast, we could do without him, obviously, but I’m not in favor of kicking anyone off. We can boot him at Eastspar if he becomes a problem.”

“Or sooner,” Tallheart rumbled. “He has proven that he is able to swim.”

Ameliah snorted.

“Okay, it’s settled then,” Vanna said, standing up. “We’re leaving right the hells now. Unless there are any objections, we should probably call the meeting.”

“No objections, but wait just a moment,” Rain said, motioning her back down. “We need to finalize where we’re going.”

“North,” Smelt said, crossing his arms. “Duh.”

“Yes, obviously,” Rain said patiently, “but are we stopping at Fioe, or are we pressing for Eastspar?”

“Eastspar would be better if we can make it,” Samson said. “Fioe doesn’t have a teleporter, and it has a bad reputation—both the city and the Citizen, not that we’ll have to deal with the latter.”

“Eastspar, then,” Vanna said. “Good enough for me. We can always stop sooner if it looks like we’re not going to make it.”

“Where after that, though?” Romer asked.

Rain opened his mouth but found himself interrupted by a low rumble.

“Yelfenn.”

Rain raised an eyebrow, swiveling his head to peer at the antlered smith. “What’s in Yelfenn?”

Tallheart blinked slowly, meeting Rain’s gaze.

Oh. I’ll ask him later in private to make sure, but if it’s what I think it is...

“That is not much of an answer,” Vanna observed after the silence began to stretch.

Rain nodded to Tallheart. “Okay, Yelfenn.”

“Wait just a damn second,” Smelt said. “That’s still in the DKE.”

“I am aware,” Rain said. “Tallheart wants to go there, though, so that’s where we’re going.”

“But—”

“Smelt,” Ameliah said, interrupting him and raising her hand high above her head. “I vote for Yelfenn. It’s still in the DKE, yes, but it’s right in the middle of the northern coast. With the Citizens under the Warden’s control, it’s probably as safe as anywhere, on this continent or off. Safer than passing by Splendor and risking our luck with the Bank, certainly. It’s near the West Nov passage, too, so we don’t have far to go if we decide to try our luck in Rellagia. The port cities tolerate Guilders to one degree or another, provided they keep out of politics.”

Rain raised his hand, adding his vote for Yelfenn, though it was hardly unclear where he stood. He looked at Vanna. “What do you say, Commander?”

“Yelfenn,” Vanna said, raising her hand as well and looking at Smelt. “Sorry, brother. No time to argue.”

Samson looked at Tallheart speculatively. “There is something there you need?”

Tallheart, after a moment, nodded slowly.

Samson nodded back, then raised his hand as well. “Good enough for me. I vote for Yelfenn.”

“Fine,” Smelt said, heaving a sigh, clearly outnumbered. “I just want to know why, is all.”

“You do not need to,” Tallheart said, his face even more unreadable than usual.

Rain stood before anyone else could respond, clapping his hands to gather their attention. “Vanna’s right; this meeting has gone on too long already. Tallheart, tip Staavo out of his hammock and get us moving. Smelt, find Shu and have him chart us a course close to shore, the shallower, the better. Tarny, I want Bakal and Mahria out there working on the iceberg. Atyl, find Kettel and have him meet me at the boiler. I’ll get it up to temp, but others will need to work shifts to keep it going. Myth and Reason haven’t had time to make more fuel yet, so we’re running on people power. Ameliah, can you scout, please? It’s day, so minor mana usage shouldn’t draw anything too horrible up to say hello, but I’d feel better with you up there to warn us. Maybe take Emerton with you if he’s available. Samson, I want a full combat party topside at all times, too, and someone watching Velika to tell me if she so much as wiggles an eyelash.” Lifting his almost-forgotten coffee, he cracked his visor and poured the lukewarm liquid down his throat before slamming the mug back to the table with slightly more force than he’d intended. The heavy ceramic didn’t break, but it wouldn’t have given him pause for an instant if it had. He had far more important things to worry about. “Let’s MOVE, people!”

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