Sukina's Story

Chapter 14: Part 1

The next morning, Butan and I had time to shower, get dressed, and cook and eat a quick omelette before I felt Charth latch on to my mind. It was just past eight at this point. My father and I were sat on the armchairs and, as promised, Faso hadn't returned through the night.

So early? I asked Charth.

My sources at the palace reveal that Alsie's away on business. By the time she's back, you'll be long gone and then she'll have no way of tracking you down.

Fantastic. I turned to my father. "Come on, Butan, it's time."

He looked at his pocket watch. "I wasn't expecting the old man to get things together so quickly. But I guess time is of the essence. Just let me get our things."

He walked into the bedroom and came out with both our haversacks, previously packed the night before. Fortunately, neither of us had many possessions.

So, with our barebones luggage on our backs, we went outside and took the tram to Slaro West Station. As before, we passed through the turnstile without problems. The sky was thinner than usual, and we could see the single airship buoyed there. It wasn't Colas' golden craft this time, but a nondescript white balloon with a plain pine gondola. Colas waved to us from the top and Charth was up there too. The craft was already anchored, and a rope ladder swayed in the wind.

"That's our ship," I said to Butan. And we climbed the ladder.

Only Charth and Colas were waiting on board. As the gondola swayed in the cold breeze, I noticed the small door leading down into the cabin. Through the porthole, I could see another broad-framed man stoking coal into a boiler.

Interestingly, some ladders led up to the balloon, leading up to multiple rings of rungs distributed evenly along the balloon's lining. There were railings in between these. With a harness, you could scale the entire thing.

Colas saw me looking up at it. "The balloon's white now. But anyone can climb up there and put up a different design. We want to be as discrete as possible to get through the Southern Barrier without a problem."

Butan didn't seem too interested in the balloon. Instead, he was studying Charth, who had his eyes affixed on me. I let out a deliberate cough. Charth, I said in my mind. Perhaps you should have introduced yourself to my father?

Charth turned to him. "Oh sorry, I almost forgot myself." He straightened his posture and then offered my father his hand. "I'm Charth, Captain Colas' son."

"I see. So, you must be one of those men who can turn into dragons?"

"He is," Colas said. "But he's much more reliable than Alsie."

"And you have your eye on my daughter, I see..."

"Butan," I said. "That's none of your business."

"Fine. But I must say, you seem much better taste than her last suitor."

"Butan!" I turned to glare at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," my father said. "It's just been a long day."

Behind us, the cabin door opened, and two men came on deck. They wore flat caps and coveralls, making them look more like factory workers than pilots. A short stockier woman came up after them.

"We're fired up and ready to go, Captain," she said.

"Wonderful," Colas said. "Well, let's have lift-off then. Next stop, Sanjiornio. That's where we shall pass the southern barrier."

"We need to land there?" Butan asked. "I thought you said you had contacts there." If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was losing a little trust in the old man.

"Yes, but my contact doesn't tend to stay airborne. He'll let us pass once he sees us on the ground. But there'll still be guards posted at the lookout towers."

"We understand, Colas," I said. "Then I guess we should get going."

"Very well," Colas said. "Then let's fire up this beast, and to Sanjiornio we go..."