Heart's tale

Chapter 13 part 1

The collapsed part of the cave, as if gnawing, went deep into the canyon. There, in the courtyard, Snorri was sitting. It was hot, and the big guy took shelter in the shade of an old stone golem's enormous leg, covered with centuries-old cracks and moss. Farther along was the parts warehouse, where two mechanics with dummies were leisurely selecting parts for the ships. Leaning his back against a stone finger, Snorri looked up at the sky, where the fourth moon was rapidly crawling, covering the small star for a moment, and listened to the company of small mechanical dwarves trying with persistence and diligence to find again in this mess the mounts for the stone giants.

He had once seen a stage performance about the battle of the golem giants with Björnveig, "Semimiron's Rising." In the play, the traitor Semimiron and his army, which he created in secret in the quarries, broke down the wall and, sowing death and destruction, moved toward the Heart to kill it. He was confronted by giant machines and an army of men, but they were powerless against the onslaught. And only the great Björnveig, who received a rune from the desperate humans, one of the large shards of the Heart, destroyed the giants with its unbreakable power.

And now he, Snorri, was sitting with a resurgent army of golems, ready to move again on the City and ruin it. But that is not their main goal. Their goal is to free the Heart.

"So maybe it was different for Semimiron, too?" he pondered. "Not the way they show it on the stage?"

How could Snorri know what it was really like? And how it really is now. The stars burned brighter and brighter, and the double shadow of his finger shifted, exposing the big guy's knee, which he hastened to remove, and now sat uncomfortably. Serenity had left him. His whole body ached and fidgeted on the hard stones.

He stood up, squinting his eyes and trying to see who was walking toward him through the stacked mountains of scrap metal. When he regained his sight, the unexpected guest was already standing beside the man, arms at his sides. It was the doll, taken from the City. Snorri frowned, preparing to say a few choice words to it, but it beat him to it.

"Let's go, pile of meat, they're waiting for us," said the doll in a rather cocky and defiant way, which made the big guy feel a little embarrassed, but when he opened his mouth to reply, the doll was already at the other end of the yard and shouted at him:

"Hurry up, the Baron is waiting."

Snorri clenched his fists, then unclenched, exhaled, and followed the animated one. The latter was already maneuvering confidently between the natural columns in the narrow passages formed by the fractures in the rock. Heavy and stodgy with heat, the big guy could hardly keep up with the doll, cursing at the same time the day he had let this sick mind's creature without a mouth and brains be stuck in his life a little longer than any other dummy.

As he emerged from the rift into the canyon, he was again nearly blinded by the bright light of the crystals beating out of the rocks all along the eastern slope. His eyes flickered and rippled. Snorri turned the passing mechanic around and removed his sunglasses.

"I'll bring it back later," he muttered, and headed down toward the ship.

At the ship, dummies of all stripes were removing flags and electric wires of illumination. There, among the tents, he found a barrel of water, dipped his face into it, and took two big gulps. As he emerged from the barrel, he shook his head heavily, splashing the musicians and dancers from head to toe as they made their brunch, not yet changed their clothes after days of carnival. Without saying a word in response to their meaningful glances and exclamations, he headed for the stairs that led to the ship.

Goody, Raud, and Lila were waiting for him on deck. The other crews were gathered next to them. Leo was glittering with a smile, as if he didn't pay any attention to Snorri, and a griffin with wings that sparkled gold in the bright sun was seated next to him. Joe the Platform laughed out loud as he hovered near the board, much to the amusement of the wooden monkeys, who bounced and tumbled around on the antique gun-shaped cast-iron cannon, which gave off a heat haze. Split up into companies, people, first-borns, and animated ones were discussing the carnival. Snorri walked over to his group and stood silently with his arms folded across his chest.