The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 35

At the end of the week, Arthur returned on the newly-repaired airship, mostly recovered from his injuries. He had made his report to his father, the King, and received assurances that reinforcements would be sent to Selphia posthaste. Furthermore, an honor guard was to be assembled to protect the sole rune sphere as well as the remaining rune spheres upon their recovery. The king was deeply disturbed by these incursions by the Sechs Empire—even going so far as to attack his own son—and I heard a rumor that he was most grim in aspect afterwards as he gave the orders for soldiers to be carefully selected for these duties.

After his return, the prince immediately called a meeting with both Avani and Forte, to fill them in on the situation and to receive their reports. Dylas and I, as Avani's comrades-in-arms, were also present at the meeting. During his absence, the floating fortress had neither approached nor attacked the town. However, Dylas swore that sometimes he saw small objects flying to or from the fortress—larger than birds, he said, but too small to be manned aircraft. Arthur looked thoughtful at that report, and I wondered if he, like I, suspected that they were spies. 

He reassured Forte that she would have full authority—by command of the King—over the reinforcements soon to arrive in Selphia, regardless of rank. Then he turned to Avani, and without his customary smile, he gave her a long, steady look. She lifted her head slightly and sat a little straighter as she met Arthur's gaze, proud and staunch in her devotion to her adopted home, yet refusing to grovel for anyone—man or beast, male or female, royal or common. They stared at each other for a full five minutes, without blinking or wavering, then his gaze suddenly softened and he smiled. Avani blinked in surprise, then sat back and waited for him to speak.

"Have you spent your time wisely in my absence, preparing yourself for the battle that is yet to come? Are you ready to depart in search of your quarry?"

"I am, Your Highness" she replied simply and certainly—and without sarcasm, this time.

"Then go and equip yourselves. The airship departs in one hour."

She jumped up and quickly knelt before him on one knee, clasping his hand. "Thank you, Arthur. I will not fail you, nor Venti."

Gently he lifted her up, then to everyone's surprise, he knelt before her and gently kissed her hand ere he rose. He smiled down at her, a tender look in his eyes, then placing his hands on her shoulders, he said softly, "I know you won't. I'm counting on it." Then he turned away from her, signaling our dismissal.

We hastened back to the castle to fetch our weapons and armor, as well as a few supplies. After we donned our armor, we stuffed the supplies in our rucksacks, secured our weapons, and hurried to the airship, where Arthur awaited us. As soon as we had boarded the ship, he signaled to the dockhands to release the guy-wires, and we were off to the Emperor's aerial fortress, soaring on the winds to meet our doom or his.

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The fortress had appeared massive when we viewed it from the observation tower, but as we approached it, we realized that our distant glimpse had not provided us with an accurate sense of its true scale. It looked like a cluster of four islands surrounding a central island, but as we drew nearer, I could see that three of the four outer islands were actually formed of a series of large, interconnected platforms. The fourth island was farther removed from the central island, and elevated well above the others. From its grand and imposing architecture, as well as its removal from the rest of the construct, I surmised that must be the inner sanctum of Ethelberd's stronghold.

Staring at the fortress as we approached it, Arthur exclaimed in wonder, "It's... it's huge. Much larger than I had imagined. How can they keep something so massive stable, floating in the air like that? It's awe-inspiring... and more than a little terrifying, I must confess."

Avani nodded her head, then suddenly she drew her swords, shouting, "Look out!" as a small green dragon dropped from the sky, landing heavily on the deck. With a piercing cry, it reared up, spreading its wings in challenge. Dylas crouched, preparing to leap, and I raised my spear, twirling it in my hand to balance my grip.

"Arthur, just keep on piloting the ship—we'll take care of any distractions!" she shouted up to him as she charged, slashing at it with her swords. Within moments, the membranes of its wings were torn to useless shreds and it threw its huge head back, keening in pain.

"I'll handle the ship, but be sure you don't get knocked off! It's a long ways down!" Arthur called.

Avani raised a hand in acknowledgement, shouting "So I remember!", as she spun around to face our opponent. I dove in, my spear leveled at its side, just as Dylas leaped up in the air, coming down with a mighty kick onto the monster's serpentine neck, crushing it beneath his heavy boots just as I impaled it.

"Look out! Reinforcements!" Arthur shouted as the dragon vanished in a pillar of light, and just then another young dragon landed heavily on the deck, followed by two aerial combat automatons that immediately began firing on us. I whirled and swiped at the second dragon with my spear just as it lunged forward with a sweep of its wing claws, hissing in rage. The point of my weapon connected with its claw, and I drove into it as it bore down to crush me under its weight, forcing it to stagger back.

Dylas dropped below its flailing wings and rolled beneath one of the hover soldiers, delivering a powerful wheel kick from below as he did so. The soldier, its stabilizers damaged, spun off drunkenly before crashing into the mast. Avani likewise ducked beneath a spray of projectiles shot by the second soldier, hastily swapping her dual swards for her massive longsword as the bullets flew over her head, then she sprang up and lunged at it, her sword held high before she crashed it down on top of the soldier, cleaving it in two with one mighty blow.

As the small dragon recovered and prepared to lunge forward again, I cast an earth wheel, shooting out a spiral of rocky spikes up all around it. Impaled on no fewer than three of the jagged protrusions, the dragon screamed, lashing its tail in impotent fury as it departed our world.

"There's more coming!" Arthur shouted as a pair of dragons and another automaton appeared. Dylas repeated his wheel kick maneuver on this soldier, sending it flying, as I summoned another spiral of stone spikes. Avani quickly switched back to her dual swords and dove in, slashing at the second dragon's wings and neck. She whirled around it, a dervish of destruction, her swords a blur of motion and light. The battered robot, meanwhile, slowly rose from where it had crashed near the first, hovering unsteadily as it scanned for targets. Dylas strode up to it, then as it turned and homed in on him, he crashed his fist down onto its top, smashing it to pieces.

As the automaton fell in pieces to the deck, the dragon Avani fought lunged forward at her, snapping its jaws, its wings stretched out to either side—bloody, ragged, and completely useless. Avani somersaulted away from its teeth, grimacing as it blasted its hot, sulfurous breath over her. She gathered herself and leapt, diving at its neck as it lay hissing and snapping, unable to rise again without the use of its wings. She battered its thick hide with her swords, using her momentum to slash through its natural armor and sever its spine. A scream of agony was choked off as its life abruptly ended, and it vanished from sight, leaving only a sulfur-stained fang to mark its passing.

In the meantime, the dragon before me had reared back, narrowly dodging the spikes of rock that had shot up from the deck all around it. It lowered its head and hissed, narrowing its eyes and flicking its tongue, tasting my scent in the air. This dragon was the largest of the five so far, and it appeared more cunning than the others, as well. I lowered my spear and charged, but it flung itself out of my path with surprising agility, then spun around, whipping its massive tail into me. The impact flung me back, and I felt myself teetering on the edge of the deck. I slipped, and then I heard Avani scream as I fell backwards into empty air.