Chapter 3

Each major Geovan settlement was connected via railway in at least three directions to ensure that every place had backups in case of a break in the line. Maeryn and her friends resided in the Geovan capital, Vert, which connected to six other settlements: Lodestar, Greenstone, Lakehollow, Mossvale, Flamespire, and Frostdeep.

Each settlement was named based on the environment found there. Mossvale was practically overflowing with mosses of various kinds, from glow-moss to medicinal ones. Flamespire had natural geothermal vents and was the hub of steam technology development. Lakehollow had a massive underground lake and was said to be one of the most beautiful places in Geova. Frostdeep was bitterly cold but had found its niche in food storage and preservation. Greenstone was named after a massive green magic crystal around which the town had grown, now hosted in the Alchemical Workshop built around it.

As for Lodestar… Lodestar was a mining town. There were many veins of ore yet to be mined from the rock. Iron and copper were the most common and always in demand, but occasionally someone would find tin or bauxite. On rare occasions, precious gems could even be uncovered, sparking a rush of workers.

So, no one was surprised to see Maeryn and her friends carrying heavy packs on the train to Lodestar - they looked like young wanna-be miners hoping to strike it rich, which wasn’t uncommon.

“Hmph,” Frankie grumbled, eyeing the engine as they boarded.

“What’s wrong?” Maeryn asked, already suspecting the answer.

“The train’s still using the old model engine from ten years ago. It’s just… inefficient, and it bugs me. If they’d simply replace two - no, three pipes with the correct linings, then the steam would be able to generate higher pressure, and the train would go at least ten percent faster,” Frankie explained, crossing her arms with a huff.

Dan chuckled. “Leave it to you to know exactly how to improve a steam engine at a glance.”

Frankie shrugged. “What can I say? Efficiency matters. Every little bit counts, especially now with the mana crisis.”

Maeryn nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s something we can look into when we get back. If we can get the Elders to listen, that is.”

“Good luck with that,” Frankie muttered, rolling her eyes. “They’re more likely to call it a waste of resources.”

“Still, it’s worth trying,” Maeryn said firmly. “Every bit of efficiency we can squeeze out might buy us more time.”

“When we get back,” Dan assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder supportively.

Maeryn took a deep breath and nodded. “When we get back,” she agreed.

None of them said anything more as the train blew its whistle, or on the hour-long ride that followed. Maeryn, for her part, was lost in thought. She hadn’t said goodbye to her parents, and she wasn’t sure if she regretted it. She had left a letter at home for them, but… Maeryn wished she could have gotten one last hug from her mom, one last “I’m proud of you” from her dad.

They hadn’t lived together in years, but that wasn’t uncommon in Geovan society. Thirteen was the traditional age where a child was expected to learn to find work and stand on their own two feet, and Maeryn had been no different. After she’d been hired as an apprentice hunter, guarding farmers on the surface, her parents had helped her find a place of her own. It was within walking distance of their own home, of course, just in case she had any problems or needed parental advice, but it was still hers to do with as she pleased.

Maeryn had avoided her parents for the last two weeks, fearing that they would somehow be able to tell what she was planning. That they might have been able to convince her to stay, and wait. For their sake. But she was doing this for them. For everyone.

A tiny shiver ran down her arms, and Maeryn wished for a long moment that she could go back and hug her mother. Then she shook herself out of it, berating herself. She hadn’t even finished leaving Geova and she was homesick. Great. That boded well for her journey.

The train ground to a stop with a long, sustained hiss of steam, and Frankie led them out. “This way. Follow me.”

She guided them through the town, which looked rather empty at that moment. That made sense, though - as a mining town, most people would be out in the tunnels mining at this time of day. Frankie had explained that before, which was part of why they’d chosen this time to leave. The fewer interruptions or complications, the better.

As they continued, Maeryn smelled a shift in the air. She could detect the faint scent of grasses, trees, non-compacted dirt… the odor of the surface. Right. Lodestar had an entrance to the surface because it was a mining town. It had been conclusively proven that fresh air helped prevent mining-related illnesses, including black lung.

“We’re here,” Frankie announced, approaching a nondescript but enormous warehouse. She lightly kicked the door open, and with a grand flourish, bowed to Maeryn and Dan. “May I present… Stonewing.”

Maeryn went inside and froze in place, her jaw dropping in awe. Inside was a thing of beauty. Thin at the tail, with a bulbous “head” where the cockpit was clearly visible in its treated glass, Stonewing was a giant flying machine that could have housed three copies of her home in Vert. Its wings, currently folded for storage, were wider than she would have believed possible. The wings and tail fins were supported by a skeletal structure made of some metallic alloy that Maeryn didn’t recognize but knew had to be incredibly lightweight. Four “horns” across the top were actually steam vents, clear indications of high tech design that had gone into this. Four propellers, obviously powered by the steam engine within the ship, gleamed at each side of the head of Stonewing.

“By the Hearth… Frankie, she’s beautiful.”

“That she is,” Frankie agreed proudly. “She can carry a couple of metric tons without too much trouble, and she’s got room for eight to stay in comfortably. Assuming nobody wants to bunk together. Figured I’d make sure we had room for anyone who wanted to join us, you know? Downside is, she’s a bit of a power hog, at least to get up and running. Takes a lot of steam to get everything working. But once she’s in the air, it doesn’t take much mana to keep her going, and she’s designed to catch any water in the air to refuel her steam engines that way, so as long as we fly through a cloud every now and then she can go almost forever.”

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Maeryn shook her head, duly impressed. “You’ve outdone yourself, Frankie.”

“Not yet I haven’t. Wait till I figure out how to make her fly faster than a diving falcon, and then I’ll have outdone myself,” Frankie denied, ideas visibly whirling in her head. “Maybe if I…”

“No, no, not today!” Maeryn interrupted. “You can tinker with her later, but right now it’s time to go.”

Dan laughed but said nothing as he followed, Maeryn gently but forcefully guiding a pouting Frankie to board the airship. The steamhead’s melancholy evaporated as soon as they were on board, and the next moment she was giving Maeryn a whirlwind tour. Each bedroom was tiny, almost crowded with a cot, desk and dresser, but Maeryn didn’t mind; she didn’t anticipate using the room for more than sleep for the foreseeable future. The bedrooms encircled the meeting area, a circular room that had a wooden table big enough to seat five on one side, and a blackboard on the other.

Directly behind the meeting area was a slightly smaller space that was clearly dedicated to be a kitchen, but Maeryn could immediately tell that it was incomplete. Preempting her friend, Frankie immediately explained. “Yeah, I’m no good at the food stuff. Like, I could get something working but an oven’s supposed to be built by the person who’s gonna use it. Figured you wouldn’t mind if I just let you take care of that during the flight to Cloudreach.” Frankie pointed at several pipes protruding from the wall, complete with valves. “Here are your water intake and steam output pipes. They share the same water source as what Stonewing uses for flight for efficiency reasons, so try not to hog too much of it, but otherwise? Go nuts.”

Maeryn nodded thoughtfully; she had a few ideas on what to do with the space, but that was for later. “Thanks, Frankie. As soon as I get it set up, I’ll make some roasted trail mix with Luminwing jerky, just for you.”

Frankie’s eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite snack food. “I oughta do nice things more often if that’s how you’re gonna pay me back,” she teased.

“Oi!” Dan protested. “I helped get everything set up too!”

“Don’t worry,” Maeryn laughed. “As long as you packed some sweetweed, you’ll get your sweet and sour chicken for dinner the night I get the oven working.”

Dan folded his arms and nodded in mock seriousness. “Your bribe is acceptable. Carry on.” Both Maeryn and Frankie laughed at him, and Dan’s attempt to keep a straight face crumbled as he joined in. Finally, he shook his head. “Come on, let’s go see the cockpit and get in the air. We can see the rest of the ship once we’re on the way.”

His suggestion sobered both of his friends, and Maeryn once again felt the weight of their mission upon her. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

The cockpit was wider than the meeting room, naturally, but was overall much smaller. Which made sense, really, being a dedicated room for flying. There were seats for three, but only one of them was situated with all the controls, a complicated mess of knobs, levers, valves and gauges, connected to pipes that went into the ceiling or floor, presumably connected to the rest of the ship in dizzying ways that Maeryn couldn’t begin to fathom.

Frankie sat herself down in the pilot chair and stretched her arms in front of her, cracking her knuckles. “Alright then. Initiating the startup sequence now.” She pulled what looked like a solid steel handle several centimeters out, twisted it ninety degrees clockwise, then pushed it back in. There was an audible hum as Maeryn heard the systems start to warm up. “It’ll take a few minutes. Dan, Rin, drop your bags in whatever room you want, then come back and buckle up. I’m gonna go pull the lever next to the slide-up door to open it up. We’re gonna need some space to get moving.”

Before they could say a word, Frankie was gone. Maeryn and Dan glanced at each other, shrugged, and did as she said. After they were seated again and strapped in, Maeryn’s curiosity got the better of her. “Hey Dan?”

“Yeah?”

“How’re you staying so calm?”

Dan shrugged. “I’m not. But there’s no point in panicking, is there? Sure, this is scary. Depths and damnation, if you could feel my heart thumping in my chest…” Dan reached up to his chest, allowing a faint grimace to cross his face before it was schooled away a moment later. “But that doesn’t change what we gotta do. We’ve planned as best we can. There’s nothing more we can do to prepare better, and we’re out of time. All that’s left is to just do it.”

Something in Maeryn settled with the knowledge that she wasn’t the only one feeling the jitters before they left everything they knew behind. “Yeah. You’re right. Not like we haven’t spent literal years talking through everything. If there were another realistic option, we’d have tried that first.”

Dan nodded, letting out a little sigh as she echoed his thoughts. “I’m honestly more worried about what we’re leaving behind. Us leaving like this is going to light a fuse, you know. Other people are going to see us as running away, no matter what we left behind. I can only imagine how many other people are going to try to do the same in the coming weeks.”

Maeryn’s gut twisted. Yeah. She knew. “There’s no getting around that. Like you said. This is something we gotta do.”

“Alrighty!” Frankie cheerfully chirped, plopping herself into the pilot seat and casually looking over the gauges in front of her. “Steam pressure’s at acceptable levels across the board, mana consumption has dropped to maintenance levels… we’re good to go. You two ready for takeoff?”

“I’m ready,” Dan affirmed softly. He looked at Maeryn. “On your signal, captain.”

Something in her stomach fluttered at his words. “Take us to Cloudreach.”

“Aye-aye, Captain Rin,” Frankie acknowledged. She reached forward, grabbing what looked like one of two levers and pushing it forward slightly. With a lurch, Stonewing started moving forward. Slowly at first, then it began to pick up speed. Once they’d cleared the warehouse, Frankie reached up to the ceiling and pushed a lever to be parallel with the ceiling. “Spreading our wings now.”

Maeryn looked out the side, watching with awe as the wing unfolded itself, supported by its metal skeleton. It was so long…!

“Come on, baby, up in the air with you. Time to fly.” Frankie pushed forward on the lever in front of her, and suddenly Stonewing was accelerating far faster than before, pushing Maeryn more firmly into her seat. They were rapidly approaching the surface exit! Then Frankie pulled at the second lever in front of her, pulling it back towards her.

Maeryn’s stomach dropped as Stonewing left the ground… and Geova. They were in the air now, and on their way to Cloudreach. The landscape below shrank rapidly, and Maeryn felt a mix of exhilaration and inexplicable loss. Once again, she wished she could go back and flee into her mother’s arms… but no. There was no turning back.

Above and ahead of them, the sky stretched vast and open, a stark contrast to the enclosed world of Geova they were leaving behind. Maeryn took a deep breath, steadying herself. This was just the beginning.

But when she looked down at the ground again, her breath caught. She couldn’t see anything past the thick fog of pale blue Mist coating the land for as far as the eye could see. The world was completely coated. Maeryn had never seen anything like it. The view really made it hit home, exactly how far along they were in the apocalypse.

Did they even have a year left? All of a sudden, Maeryn felt like even her worst-case scenario estimate was too generous. Seeing the world like this… it felt like the Mist was just waiting to swallow up her home, and it was so close to being able to do just that.

“We’ll make it,” she muttered. “We have to.”