The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC)

Part 37

Breakfast the next morning was amazing. Eggs had been prepared in numerous ways—scrambled. hard-boiled, soft-boiled, poached, fried, deviled, baked, and pickled. Thick strips of bacon glistened in their crinkly glory. Various kinds of toast and pastries vied for attention, along with butter, honey, and jam. A vat of oatmeal had been sweetened with berries and sugar. Pies bulged with spicy potatoes, veggies, eggs, and sausage. Milk was available, and fruit juice, and numerous hot drinks.
I was feeling pretty good about the mission. The others, not so much. Cole looked nervous. Jace acted unconcerned. He tossed berries into the air and caught them in his mouth. I wondered how much of that was a facade. Mira and Twitch were more subdued. Declan and Jamar ate with us,
Declan nibbling at a dry piece of toast, Jamar tearing into the spiciest pie and the pickled eggs. Jamar's waxy white assistants served the food and drink.
I had awakened to find nice clothes—exactly my size—laid out for me. It was a thigh length ice blue dress, white a white long sleeve underneath. Asia had also curled my hair into soft waves and gave me gold hoop earrings and a gold necklace. I felt way too fancy for someone who was about to run straight into danger.
Cole, Jace, and Twitch had new clothes as well.
They each had a different color button down shirt with black dress pants and new shoes.
Mira wore a outfit similar to mine, a light brown dress, including a thin silver necklace and sparkly hairpins.
After breakfast, Declan stood, supporting himself against the table. "I take it you have decided how to proceed," he said to Mira.
"We're going to leave," Mira said. "I'm going after my powers. The others can join me or go their own way as they choose."
Me and Cole shared a glance.
I picked at my food, nervous. We hadn't discussed our plan at all.
"I don't know about Cole, but I'm with you."
"I am too." Cole added.
"Very well," Declan said. "I expected as much.
It's really the only option, given the circumstances. I won't send you away without aid. Most of the semblances and renderings we create here would only function in close proximity to the Brink. The atmosphere near the cloudwalls is much more generous for shaping than elsewhere in Sambria. Nevertheless, I have instructed each of my apprentices to provide an item to help you on your way. These gifts will function anywhere in Sambria. They all belong to Mira. Those who accompany her will benefit from them as well. Jamar! Asia! Liam!"
Asia entered the room, followed by Lyrus, who carried a wicker basket. She gestured toward him, and the soldier upended the basket on the floor, revealing a tangle of chains and iron balls.
"I call this the Shaper's Flail," Asia said. "It responds to a few commands. Flail, ready!"
At those words, the chains became untangled.
Five of the iron balls reared up into the air like serpents poised to strike, some higher than others, each attached to one of the thick-linked chains. One ball stayed on the ground. Each ball had to weigh twenty or thirty pounds, and each chain connected to a central iron ring.
"It also responds to commands like 'return,' which will send it back to the basket; 'follow,' which will make it trail along behind you;
'Defend'; which will make it protect something or someone; and 'attack,' which you should only say it if you really mean it. The word 'flail' must precede the command for it to work. Flail, return!"
In a clattering blur, the mass of chains spheres sprang smoothly into the basket. The new weapon would definitely bring some added protection.
"The flail is linked to Mira and will only respond to her." Asia said. "She will guide it to targets with her thoughts and locus, but no effort will be required to determine how it attacks. The flail will also respond to the commands 'capture'
and 'threaten'. As you might guess, don't try to capture anything delicate. It isn't a gentle rendering."
"Thank you, Asia," Declan said. "Jamar?" The curly haired shaper stood and held up a red velvet sack with a golden drawstring.
"I harvested one of our most abundant natural resources for your use. Massive amounts of water vapor are drawn into the terminal void every day,
which means the cloudwall is somehow being constantly replenished. This sack contains twenty thousand cubic yards of fog. It can empty in twenty seconds. Once empty, if you turn the bag inside out, it can swallow up to twenty thousand cubic yards of fog at the same rate. Use it over and over if desired."
"Are there commands?" Mira asked.
'Empty slow, empty medium, empty fast,"
Jamar rattled off. "They work when the mouth of the sack is open. When inside out, 'fill slow,' fill medium,' and 'fill fast.' No need to make it complicated."
"Or useful," Liam said, entering the room on a hovering disk. "Unless they want to ruin an afternoon at a small beach."
"Perhaps they'll need to confuse their enemies,"
Jamar said.
"Can they see through the fog better than others?" Liam asked.
"They can release the fog behind themselves during a escape." Jamar said less patiently.
"They could fill enemy barracks. Or obscure a courtyard."
"I guess it could come in handy," Liam allowed.
"Asia's gift was as subtle as ever."
"I'm not sure subtlety will be their greatest need," Asia said.
"Well, I'll provide some, anyway." Liam whistled, and a bird flew to his shoulder a white-and-gray cockatiel with a yellow crest and orange cheeks.
"This is Mango."
"You're my new masters," the cockatiel said in an eager voice, only vaguely birdlike. "I'll spy for you and do whatever else I can to keep you safe and informed."
"She'll answer to any of you," Liam said. "That way if Mira gets knocked unconscious or is otherwise indisposed, you can still give Mango orders. But if you split up, Mango will stay with Mira."
The cockatiel flitted from Liam's shoulder to Mira's. She stood about six inches tall, not counting the long tail feathers. The bird cocked her head and whistled. Mira petted it gently.
"Her wings feel strange," Mira said.
"Strange?" Mango challenged, ruffling her feathers.
Now that Mira mentioned it, as I leaned closer, the bird didn't look quite right. The texture of the feathers seemed too smooth and shiny.
"Mango is made from a light substance I designed," Liam said. "I call it ristofly. It makes her much more durable than if she were composed of flesh and actual feathers. She can fly
faster and see better than most real birds. She doesn't need food or water, doesn't sleep, doesn't relieve herself, and can dwell underwater as easily as in the air."
"See how handy I am?" Mango said. "And you sum it up as strange."
"Sorry," Mira said. "I didn't mean any offense."
Asia exhaled derisively. "A semblance that requires apologies? Brilliant work, Liam. Very subtle."
"I'm plenty subtle," Mango snapped. The bird hopped close to Mira's ear. "I won't let anyone sneak up on you. I'll steer you away from danger. And you can command me to do just about anything. If I don't understand, I'll let you know."
"You made her in one night?" Mira asked Liam.
"Sort of," Liam replied. "I repurposed one of my best spy birds. But I completely reshaped and refined her, added some spunk."
"She's so lifelike," Mira said.
"Few shapers could manage such a creation." said Declan "Flying semblances are hard. Personalities are harder. None of us can replicate lifelike humans and other beasts to match the ones the Western Cloudwall creates. Semblances like Lyrus are uniquely realistic."
"Could Lyrus come with us?" Cole asked
"I would relish nothing more than an adventure,
the soldier said.
"I'm aware," Declan replied. "But nothing we can do would allow you to leave here and survive. That aspect of you is beyond any of our abilities to tamper with. It would be like trying to shape an actual human—there is too much complexity to cause anything but disaster. The semblances
from the sky castles can only survive on the castles or here on the peninsula."
"Then why can Mango come with us?" Cole asked.
"It is easier to make semblances out here beyond the Brink," Declan said. "Most of the semblances and renderings we create can't leave. But with effort, we can design semblances and renderings that could survive elsewhere in Sambria, just as most nonliving renderings from the sky castles can survive elsewhere."
"Forgive me if I spoke out of turn." Lyrus said, head bowed.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Declan said. "If I could make a gilt of you to help these young people on their way, I wouldn't hesitate."
"You've already done so much," Mira said. She made eye contact with Asia, Jamar, and Liam.
"Thank you for the gifts."
"Were not done yet," Declan said, sounding mildly offended. "I haven't given you mine."
"There's more?" Mira asked.
"How about this for starters?" He waved an arm in a wide gesture and I felt my wrist tingle.
I investigated the sensation. I glanced up to see the others doing the same. I saw that the mark tattooed there had changed.
Jace gasped. "It's a freemark," he said reverently. He stared at it like it held the answers to the universe.
"That's right," Declan said. "It would be difficult to go abroad marked as slaves."
"You can't change a bondmark!" Mira exclaimed.
Declan gave a small smile. "Most people can't.
They're designed to be permanent. The shaper who developed them was a student of mine."
"Just like that," Twitch said, rubbing his wrist.
"It looks real," Jace marveled.
"It is real," Declan said. "Those new marks are indistinguishable from authentic freemarks.
They have been reshaped. No traces of the original bondmarks remain. No shaper or needle master can claim otherwise."
"I can hardly believe it," Mira said.
"There's more," Declan said. "Join me outside."
Declan moved a finger and his chair hovered up and away from the table. Advancing at a pace that let the others keep up, he led the way to the courtyard.
At first Jace didn't follow the others. It took a nudge from me to stop him from staring at his freemark.
I laughed. "Come on, Jace." He just stared at me, astonished. He still wasn't moving, so I took his hand and gently pulled him out of the room.
Beyond the castle doors, an odd carriage awaited in the courtyard. The enclosed compartment rode on four wheels-not fancy, but clean and well crafted. At the front, instead of a horse, there stood a huge black brick with legs.
"An autocoach," Jace said.
"For us?" Mira asked hopefully.
"For you," Declan said. "I could have modified it to move faster. I could have made it more elaborate. But I thought it wiser to make it as typical as possible."
"Won't it raise suspicions to see five kids with their own autocoach?" Twitch asked. "Free or not."
"Astute," Declan said. "Wearing nice clothes will help, which is why we updated your wardrobes. The last part of my gift also tried to address that problem. Bertram?"
The door to the autocoach opened, and an old man with a close-cropped white beard leaned out. He was dressed in a slightly shabby, old-fashioned suit. "What was that? My hearing isn't so keen."
"State your business," Declan ordered.
The old man's eyes widened. "How's that? My business?" He absently patted his pockets.
"Yes, well, if I wish to show my grandniece and grandnephews a bit of the countryside, I suppose it is my business. That's enough chatterboxing. I feel past my prime today, and my joints ache something terrible." Coughing, he closed the carriage door and leaned back out of view.
"That's quite a semblance." Mira said.
"Not my best work," Declan lamenated. "Don't look to him for profound conversations. But Bertram should hold up well enough while you remain in Sambria. He won't leave the carriage unless forced, mostly because I doubt his authenticity can withstand close inspection.
he should serve to deflect attention if questions get asked about five youngsters traveling alone."
"Five kids and an old man," I muttered. "What if somebody decides to rob us?"
"We'll have our gear," Jace said. "Right?"
"Your items are already stowed in the autocoach," Liam said. "I strengthened the shaping of the Jumping Swords to help ensure they would hold up through Sambria. The other objects should continue to function very well."
"How's my rope?" Jace asked, an edge to his voice. "It wasn't working last I saw."
"It was still functional," Liam corrected. "I had merely severed its connection to you so it wouldn't respond to your commands."
"Will it now?" Jace asked.
"I restored the connection." Liam assured him.
"You don't have to act so put out. I was doing you a favor. Asia would have cut the rope."
"The rope is tough to cut," Jace said
"Maybe with normal weapons," Liam replied.
"Asia's blade has a miraculous edge. It would have slashed through your rope like it was smoke, and your rendering would have been ruined. Probably permanently."
"Then thanks, I guess." Jace mumbled.
"We stored food and water in the autocoach as well," Asia said. "You'll find the food packed under the seats, and your gear in a compartment beneath the floor. We include some money to help you on your way. Bertram can assist if you have trouble finding anything. We suggest you leave now. The less time you allow the High Shaper to move his forces into the area, the better chance you'll have to make a clean getaway."
"The top speed of the autocoach is not impressive," Jamar said. "Compare it to a horse at an easy trot. But the auto coach can maintain that speed indefinitely. It needs no food no water, no rest."
"So if we get chased, we might be in trouble," Cole said.
"If dangerous enemies are in close pursuit, you may have to abandon the vehicle," Asia said.
"But the autocoach will only operate for Mira.
This is standard enough that thieves will have little interest in the coach itself. Your belongings
could be another story."
"Does it know where to go?" Mira asked.
"Unless you issue new instructions," Declan said,
"The auto coach will take you to Middlebranch.
Bertram can advise you about alternative routes and destinations. If you reach Middlebranch, seek out Gerta, a shaper. The locals call her the herb woman. She could be a source of guidance.
Most of my old colleagues are dead or in hiding.
Gerta has no love for the High Shaper and is among the few from the old days who you can reliably find."
Mira nodded. "Thank you for everything. It's much more than we could have hoped for."
"I wish I could do more," Declan said. "For the first time in decades, your father has shown hints of vulnerability. He will move aggressively to reestablish the certainty of his freign. Evade him. Survive. Trust your instincts. Liam will catch up to instruct you about leaving Cloudvale."
Mira gave Declan a peck on the cheek, then started toward the autocoach. I followed her inside. Jace had lifted the hatch in the floor and was examining his golden rope. Beside him, Twitch searched the compartment, probably looking for his ring. Cole was speaking to Declan.
After a few minutes, Cole joined us in the auto coach. He sat beside Mira and Bertram, and I sat with Jace and Twitch.
"Go," Mira said as she leaned forward and closed the door. Smoothly, the autocoach began to move.