Chapter 13

  Crowds of onlookers gathered at the southern dock to await the return of the Pirate Empress’s fleet, the Jormagand leading a mixed contingent of Yujin hulks and Sarhidian lancers. At least Sannan thought those huge bluff bowed vessels trailing behind Erbosa’s ship were hulks. It was difficult to tell from his vantage point atop a marble railed balcony. A flock of seagulls flew overhead, heralding a swift ocean breeze that nearly sent Sannan toppling back.

  “You are going to have an accident if you keep that up.” Hassian fixed Sannan with a disapproving frown. Dressed in a sleeveless waistcoat edged with fine scrollwork, the bald man sat at a nearby table having his share of grilled mackerel. Sannan slowly got down from the barrel he had propped up against the balcony’s railing. Beyond was a three story drop that would have certainly ended him if he were to fall.

  Hassian beckoned over to his fellow engineer. “Come, dine with me. This mackerel is some of the finest you will ever taste in all the Thalassian Sea.”

  “But Erbosa and Zari are back,” Sannan protested.

  “You think the first thing the Pirate Empress would do upon returning from her excursion is meet with you? There’s probably a dozen other tasks she would prioritize.”

  “Right.” Sannan took the seat opposite to Hassian and began his fill of mackerel. Immediately the rich flavor brought out by the kasava sauce was apparent. It almost reminded him of his grandmother’s, and in no time Sannan was devouring the fish faster than Hassian.

  “Care to know who cooked this?”

  “Who?” Sannan asked with his mouth stuffed.

  “My sister. Fantastic cook. You may think of her food as a reward for completing that artifice of yours.” Hassian wore a satisfied smirk on his face. “See, this is what taking regular breaks gets you. I do say, perhaps we can compare our artifices once you are all done. Mine is a drastically different model, but some of the design principles are the same. You could learn a thing or two to help improve what you already have, which is to say a prototype.”

  A nearby waitress in a pristine nougat apron giggled. “Careful, Hassian. Keep talking and Sannan will end up eating all your food.”

  “Oh, I never intended on finishing anyway,” Hassian replied as he leaned back on his redwood chair.

  “Give your sister my thanks for the food.” Sannan got out of his chair to make his way downstairs. Kasava sauce still covered his mouth. “And I look forward to comparing our artifices!” No sooner did he bid farewell before he was off to the workshop to place the finishing touches on his project.

  …

  Remembering his old living quarters, Sannan made it a priority of his to tidy up his new workstation. Every last machine part was organized into different bins depending on shape and function. He imagined this would be how a High City engineer would operate, with each machine component readily available without the need to dig through scrap. Khanrea sat at its designated corner of the room, idly surveying its environment while Sannan worked to tighten up an elbow joint. Worked in dull bronze, the artifice was an absolute sight to behold. The wealth of spare parts in Erbosa’s repository allowed him to build a far superior model to any he had worked on before. Nevertheless, there was still much refining to do. Several more hours were spent on calibrating Khanrea’s behavior inputs.

  A loud rap at the door should have announced the arrival of Zari, or one of the Pirate Empress’s crew mates. Sannan proceeded to the doorway with caution, however. Twice this past week he had to fend off thieves thinking they could raid his stash of parts. To his relief, Zari’s muffled voice called from the other side.

  “Open up, you dummy! If I were a thief, this door would have been broken down by now!” Sannan opened the door to admit Zari, and to his surprise, Erbosa herself.

  At a loss for words, Sannan scrambled to think of something to say before he was interrupted.

  Erbosa asked cooly, “Do you think I need a retinue accompanying me at all times?” The tall woman was completely at ease, even without having her greatsword on her. “Despite my moniker, I certainly don’t want to be treated as an Empress.”

  Zari marveled at the bronze plated artifice staring back at her with its iridescent eye. Khanrea’s eye continued to follow her as she bent down to stroke its left forearm, segmented like the exoskeleton of a scorpion.

  “This… This is incredible. Exactly what I would picture if I ever were to visit the High City. Sannan, I’m sure Azala would be proud of what you had made here.” She let out a gasp as the artifice slowly lifted its forearm to stroke her lavender hair. Those hinged, mechanical fingers were quite gentle in spite of their rigid appearance.

  “Indeed,” Erbosa commented. “Akin to creating new life, is what it is. Zari told me you named him Khanrea. Is there any significance to the name?”

  Sannan had just finished tightening the elbow joint with one final twist of the wrench. Though perspiration ran down his face, he immediately set to work attaching a rounded plate to Khanrea’s left knee.

  “It is the name of an artifice from ancient times that was said to have formed the basis for all artifices we see today. To be frank, I simplified the name but you get…the…idea.” He spoke between intermittent attempts to shove the kneecap into place.

  “Khanrea… I can only imagine how prized a relic the original would be,” Erbosa mused. “Well, just a word of advice, Sannan. If you desire to use that machine for combat, you should prioritize agility in addition to durability. Perhaps more so. Trust me, I have fought quite a few of these before, and the fast ones always present a challenge.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Done!” Moving back, Sannan flashed a hand signal to the artifice. Within seconds, Khanrea was on its feet, initially using its hands to prop itself up.

  “Khanrea, jump!” Although the artifice was not that much taller than Erbosa, its weight caused the floorboards to shudder when it landed back down.

  “You’re right, Erbosa. A more lightweight metal is in order, but what does it matter? He’s here!” Sannan laughed with glee as he ran over to hug his creation. Cold as the metal was, he had never felt warmer inside in a long time. Drawn in by all the commotion, Hassian stepped through the doorway.

  “So the Pirate Empress actually came,” the Zaran said with a grin. One look at the bronze artifice sent him quivering with excitement. “Wait just a bit while I call in Exodeus.”

  Zari laughed, “you already got yourself a rival, Sannan.”

  “Sometimes rivals can be the best of teachers.” Sannan turned from Khanrea to her. So fixated was he on his artifice that he just noticed how Zari had changed since her recent voyage. She was fully committing to the Alorrian look, with a more intricate blouse woven with violet wavelets and knee high stockings edged with silver. She had a battle hardened look to her face, and though she was relaxed now, her eyes looked as sharp as her arrows.

  “What do you say, Zari? Once we take care of the Sea Snake, would you mind traveling with me to Alorria? Visiting the High City does not feel as pressing as it used to.”

  “I am still a wanted pirate.” Zari wore a grateful smile. “If we’re setting out for Alorria, then we had better do something about that.”

  “As unfortunate as it would be not to have you two on my crew, the final choice is for the both of you to decide.” Erbosa sounded disappointed, despite what she just said. One of the three pirate lords considered him valuable enough to keep on her crew. If Tuahn, or even Rahlif were to hear that, it would have sounded like a bad joke. Whatever the case may be, the Huaxia woman hardly fit his traditional understanding of a pirate.

  “I’ll place my hopes in you, Sannan.” Zari held out her hand. “You better not let me end up in Alorrian custody.”

  “It’s a promise,” Sannan said as he took hold of her hand. Khanrea stepped over and casually patted both their heads, sending them into a fit of laughter. All laughter was soon drowned out by the roar of an engine. Sleeker than Khanrea and constructed of a rust red metal, Exodeus flew into the workshop accompanied by Hassian. As opposed to arms, bladed wing appendages extended out from the artifices’s sides. Rather than the stocky legs of Khanrea, Hassian’s artifice bore shortened legs that reminded him of a bird’s.

  “Fantastic,” Sannan exclaimed. He knew flying artifices existed, but this…

  Hassian stroked one of the bladed wing tips the way someone would a prized horse. “Yujin steel. Just lightweight enough, yet durable enough for an artifice like this to work.” The roar of Exodeus’s engines dwindled as the winged automaton descended to perch on a bin containing spare parts. Out of curiosity, Khanrea went over to its fellow artifice to prod its angular head with a metal finger. An angular head that terminated in a singular, iridescent eye exactly like Khanrea’s.

  “So how about it, Sannan? Would you like your artifice to fly someday?”

  “Thanks for the suggestion, but I have had enough of artifice engineering for the time being. I say it’s time for a field test.”

  Zari nodded. “Right, and I know just the place for it.”

  …

  Isle Durna’s firing range lay at the foot of a massive cliffside that dominated the area directly west of the town walls. Here, stretches of rugged grass bordered a sandy coastline broken up by an occasional slab of eroded sediment. Wooden targets were interspersed across the grassy area, what Zari called “the Green.” Additional targets were placed on the slabs of sediment farther away from where the shooters stood. At that distance, Sannan doubted his cannon shots would hit accurately.

  Hassian ordered, “Exodeus, show them what you are capable of!” Hidden projectile launchers stored within the artifice’s wings revealed themselves, a moment before bright silver energy shots were fired at the farthest pair of targets. Seconds later, those targets were reduced to charred cinders.

  “Oh, Khanrea can surely perform as well.” Sannan boasted. “Just you wait and see.” Zari and Erbosa stood watching with interest. Nearby, several other pirates practicing their crossbows stopped to gawk and point at the artifices. Sannan pointed to a wooden target situated not too far from the ones Exodeus destroyed, a small circle about two feet in diameter.

  Khanrea’s singular eye glowed a brighter silver as a blast of light was shot out. The blinding projectile streaked towards its target, only to narrowly miss it by a considerable margin. Flustered, Sannan yelled. “Again!”

  Yet another blast from Khanrea, though this one likewise missed.

  “It is only to be expected,” Hassian explained. “An artifice’s targeting system is never perfect the first time, but they can be trained, you see. Slowly but surely, yours will be hitting consistently.”

  Sannan was glad to hear that. Shot after shot was fired, and he could see they were closer to hitting their targets.

  “That’s enough Khanrea,” Sannan said as he hefted his cannon onto his shoulder. “You need to save some targets for me.” To his embarrassment, he was as good a shot as his automaton. Misfires created burnt patches amongst the Green, and some of the stone slabs that once held targets were broken down into rubble.

  “Enough,” Erbosa barked. “You have done enough damage to the firing range.” Sannan was just in the process of reloading another shell.

  Grimacing, he muttered, “I was firing better during the Sea Snake’s attack.”

  “You will have to help replace the targets as a form of punishment. A shame that you might be late to the feast I have planned in the town square this evening.” Erbosa sighed, squinting at the sun as it edged closer to its noonday position. Before Sannan could respond, however, Huoyan came running over. Sweat drenched from the sweltering heat, the dainty girl flipped open a paper fan to cool herself before addressing Erbosa. A blessing that cha’an dresses were sleeveless.

  “Captain Fengren is in the town square looking for you. He said it was urgent business.”

  Turning over to Sannan and Zari, Erbosa gestured for them to stay put. “No need to come with me. You both will hear the news soon enough.”

  Erbosa rushed towards Isle Durna’s towering gates and quickly disappeared into the throng of merchants. More had been gathering at the island over the last couple of days, many spreading dangerous rumors of a potential invasion from another Pirate Lord. To many, Isle Durna was a bastion of safety within a sea ravaged by pirates.

  “Wow, Sannan. You actually finished it!” Huoyan was jumping up and down in an attempt to touch the artifice’s eye. “Congratulations! You must be exhausted from all that hard work.”

  She instinctively conjured her bluish-green flame before snuffing it back out. “Oh, I keep thinking the fire of Rai Li could restore stamina in addition to healing wounds.”

  Sannan chuckled. “It’s alright, Huoyan. I’ll manage.” Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned his head to see Hassian standing behind him.

  “You had better get to work resetting those targets, kid.” Sannan immediately laid eyes on the stack of spare targets contained within a crate that Exodeus had set near his feet. Burn me, Sannan thought. He just could not contain the urge to practice his cannon.