Bertan`s quest by Michelle Tarynne (ereader android .txt) 📕

sailed in silence, until unnatural movement shook their boat. It crashed into something that was in front of them. The darkness was impenetrable until the moment Lela lighted a small lantern that revealed two wide-eyed children, mute and wide-eyed with fear.
Mars jumped into their boat and gathered their little terrified bodies.
"Everything will be ok now. You are safe with me now," he kept murmuring, finding his own peace right then as Pam and Coope found their courage to weep. 16

"We are losing the stability of the wells, my King," the Royal Mechanic, dressed all in black, nervously informed Red Axe.
"How long will it hold?" Red Axe roared in answer.
"We are hoping for some time, but the degradation of the whole system proceeds much faster than we have calculated. The strength and amount of fire fuel breaks our stability expectations in many places. The white fire keeps on increasing its heat and size, well above of what we tested.
"How long exactly do we still have," the King said, calming himself down, knowing none of his plans would matter anymore once that fire dies.
"No one can really say, my King. Might be minutes, might be hours," the mechanic quickly answered, making a move to go back to his station.
"What can be done to keep it up?"
"Nothing. We should consider shutting it down while we still can," Mechanic stuttered and fidgeted.
"No, we need more time,” Red Axe disagreed, ”We still need more time. We are still relocating our troops, make us more time to take that army inside the Wall to fight for us all."
"I don't think it will be possible, my Lord," First General by the King's side said unexpectedly.
"Why wouldn't it be possible?" Red Axe asked, his anger firing up slightly again.
"The Blood Madness is seizing our troops, my Lord," First General answered.
"What does that mean exactly?" the King narrowed his eyes, unwilling to reveal any special interest in that matter.
"It's drowning people in waves, for a while they are in and out of sanity. Once it claims them completely, it changes them from within.” First General paused and gathered his thoughts. ”The claimed troops refuse going back into the Wall territories. Any communication with them seems to be pointless. Any plans we might have made are being ignored, and they seem to create their own ranks and orders of sorts. The maddened began digging trenches of sorts all around the Wall to wait for the coming Sword attack."
"How many are refusing to go back?"
"We have estimated it's about eighty percent, my Lord," the First General said untroubled.
"We will not be able to defend the inner Wall territories with only twenty percent of our army!" the Red Axe King did not like that news.
"Even if all the claimed troops did go back into the Wall territories, they would never heed our orders. As I said, any communication with them seems to be pointless. They have their own plan. Of sorts,” First General cleared his throat, “At least this is what it looks like.”
"Meaning?" the King frowned, trying to understand the repercussions of that fact.
"We don't know what that means, yet, my Lord."
"How do you think we should deal with that problem, General," the King said, becoming restless and impatient. He knew his own Red Haze time was nearing again.
"We cannot control what they do outside the Wall. We cannot force them to protect the inner Wall territories. All we can do is to move everyone that managed to cross back into the Wall territories, into the Inner Block area. We can count on the Blood Madness for the troops to fight fiercely the Swords who will want to reclaim this place first when they breach the Wall."
"You said when, not if, General."
"War is not the time for false hopes, my Lord," The First General replied.
"Do what you must then," the King said unfocused. He was withdrawing from the conversation.
"Yes, my Lord," the First General bowed to the King, accepting his task. After a moment of silence, he turned to the pale Royal Mechanic, "Give us more time, please."
"We are working at it. Just please be aware that any failure that would occur before we shut it down may bring us more destruction than we could handle at this point," the Royal Mechanic stuttered.
"Are you sure of that?" the First General narrowed his eyes into thin slits, looking straight through the royal mechanic.
"No, our tests never went beyond a certain point," The mechanic stuttered even more fearful all of the sudden.
"Splendid. Let's not trouble ourselves with ‘what ifs’. We need more time," the First General said stiffly. The King left the room without a word. He didn't want to reveal that none of those problems truly bothered him, "Take me to Lar," The Red Axe King commanded sharply. One of his guards shuffled his feet and turned with a silent motion inviting the King to follow.
***
"We need to leave this place immediately." Kyre turned to face Hunn, "I'm having a really nasty feeling about this fire."
"I don’t think it's possible. There's no way to cross the Wall now that the wells have been fired up. Even your bird isn't able to fly high enough yet and avoid getting fried in the process," Hunn opposed thoughtfully.
"We could always go to the Ombre Valley," Kyre proposed without any hope in his voice, “Though it’s suicide to go there now,” he added quietly.
"And be stuck surrounded by mountains and even fewer options to hide? Within the Inner Block are still hiding places to find," Hunn said, “We can still wait it out here, down below.”
"There are, of course some places but I have more and more bad feelings that the Oracle had been right with one thing." Kyre frowned, looking into the blazing fires outside.
"Which one?" Hunn sighed
"The one where everyone of both Kingdoms perishes. That means staying anywhere near Axe or Sword territories is a death trap to us."
"There are no other options,” Gi'Waters said unexpectedly, making the men jump in surprise,” Everything now is Axe or Sword Territory, there is nothing else out there for many Cycles. I agree with Hunn, we could try to get into the other mines, there are twenty seven mines within the Wall. One of them could give us shelter."
"Everything had been sealed off already by this time. Our only chance is to join the troops remaining at the Ombre Valley," Kyre disagreed, “And the Mountains Range technically belongs to no one, yet. I think this is where we should go, if the fire dies down, it’s our only safe place to go.”
"You said if. What if it doesn’t die? How will we cross that fire there to get into the Mountains, if it's put a halt even to Swords?" Gi’ said heatedly, her eyes subtly flashing into blood-red zone.
"This kind of fire can't burn for eternity. I feel it's only to stop Swords for a while, Red Axe would never trust one weapon in this war," Kyre answered, “I think the Mountains are our safest bet at this moment. I just don't know how we are going to get there,"
"We actually do." Si'Waters said dazedly, as if she has just awoken, "We have been working at the Diner outside the Inner Block walls. They regularly ship provisions for the troops stationing at the Valley. We could sign up for the next roundtrip. And place you within that transport. Once you are behind the Wall, you would have to find your way around.”
"Place us? What would happen to you then?" Kyre looked at her suspiciously.
"We would stay inside the Wall obviously. We can disappear and find a safe place here," she scoffed, “We think the safest place would be within one of the mines. There are ways to get everywhere.”
"It's of no meaning now. We go together, or we die here together. The choice is yours," Kyre dared to stomp away and leave her agape in disbelief.
"Just how do you imagine otherwise? Tell me, how are you going to smuggle out of here two big men, two pretty females, a royal child and a bird in the midst of a blood-crazed soldiers?" Si'Waters said way too loud for her nerves started to reach their breaking point. Her eyes were switching in and out of the red zone, still in the sane zone, though.
"Sh." Gi'Waters calmed her twin. "I bet they have an idea that is better than ours." She shot both men a look of challenge.
The men did nothing to disrupt the twins’ silent fury, noticing the instability of the Southener eye-color.
"Worry not females." Hunn bowed, and both of the men disappeared to weave their plans into the reality.
Kyre and Hunn heard nearing footsteps the moment they left their hiding place, so they jumped to the sides soundlessly to hide from the new arrivals. Cloaked group of well-trained King’s guards quietly surrounded them.
"Do you seriously expect that I would know nothing of my own daughter's dealings and whereabouts?" Red Axe asked the surprised Seekinglanders.
"Honestly, I gave very little thought to it," Hunn said when he was sure there was no hostility in the way in the King’s demeanor.
"What has been on your mind then?" Red Axe asked suspiciously.
"Mostly it’s how to safely leave this place," Kyre answered
"And how to take my daughter with you." Still, there was no hostility, no rage in the King's voice.
"Yes, that too," Kyre nodded, "You have noticed the Blood Madness that has been claiming you," he whispered like it was a forbidden knowledge.
"Aye, I have." The King said completely deflated in his posture.
"Lar needs to leave this place," Kyre stated without any question or hesitation.
"I agree. I can grant you a passage, of sorts." Red Axe breathed heavily. "But I cannot guarantee your safety. There is no control over the Blood Madness. Almost every Axe seems to be slowly claimed by it."
"We are no Axes," Hunn said getting closer to the King.
"You are not Axes. Therefore you are my only hope to help in her escape." The King paused, closing his eyes. "I wish I had listened to Vlad. My pride clouded my judgment back then. Please forgive me," his last words were barely audible, like a shy plea thrown to the winds. “For everything.”
"It's not us you really need to ask for forgiveness," Hunn did not look into the King’s eyes.
"I know, I'm not sure I have the strength to face her now." Red Axe paused once again closing his eyes and breathing heavily. "Just tell her, when she agrees to listen, that I love her greatly."
"We will." Hunn bowed his head in agreement. "What is the escape route you propose then? Time is of the essence now"
"You should do what the Councilor wanted all of the remaining Seekinglanders to do," Red Axe sighed uncomfortably, "He wanted all of your kind to be granted a way into the Melting Place," he frowned, "I didn’t take his idea too well at the time."
"Obviously. You killed him and every one of our tribe that arrived here," Kyre said with much hostility in his voice.
"Yes. My body killed his body and my order killed your men," Red Axe admitted reluctantly.
"Men, women and children. You don’t want to take any responsibility for your actions?" Hunn asked harshly.
"I don’t even remember doing it.