Spear of Destiny by James Baldwin (little bear else holmelund minarik .TXT) 📕

his given name instead of his title. He had a welding mask on, which he pushed aside to squint at us. “Oh, Rin! Good even, my lady. And you, Dragozin.”

“Soma.” I crossed my arms and smiled. Grudgingly. While I’d come to tolerate Soma since his disastrous coup attempt at the Prezyemi Line, I still didn’t like the guy.

“We have the blueprints for the Warsingers!” Rin cried, hopping up and down behind the railing.

Soma’s blue eyes widened. He scrambled up, moustache bristling in sudden excitement. “Blueprints!? Khors’ breath. Porta! Get over here and take over this welding! Something more important has come up.”

One of the mechanics—Porta, I assumed—hurried over to switch out with him. She flashed her lord an exasperated look as he vaulted the railing of the catwalk and ambled over to us.

“Show me. I must see them.” The Count of Vastil loomed over us. He was a massive man, six and a half feet tall and built like a pro-wrestler. “Do they include the arcane architecture? The C.W.P mapping and circuit profiles?”

“I don’t know yet. We can’t just look at them as is.” Rin pulled out one of the glowing kyanine plates she’d removed from the console. It looked like a giant circuit board to me: the crystal was etched with precise, linear lines of metal that wove over and through each other with incredible complexity.

“Ohhoho, look at this… how remarkable,” Soma breathed, taking it in his hands and studying it. “Khors’ breath, what is this material? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. You know with certainty they contain the blueprints?”

“Yes. They can be read with a projector,” Rin replied. “Karalti is carrying about seven hundred pounds of lambidium right now. If we melt it in the mana forge, cast it according to my designs, and then inscribe it, we should be able to recreate the console and read the blueprints.”

“Then it shall be done at once!” Soma turned the plate over in his hands, marveling at it. “His Majesty sent a letter to the College insisting that any Warsinger projects be prioritized for the time being. Let us go and start. With the pair of us working together, it should only take a few days… provided you are capable of recreating the device that reads these?”

“I am.” Rin’s face set into determined lines. “We leveled up a whole lot. Now that I’m over Level 30, I should be able to reengineer this, no sweat.”

I hung back, feeling every inch the fifth wheel. “What about the sonic weapons? We need those, too.”

“Oh! Right!” Rin smacked her fist into her other palm. “I can see what I can do with the parts we recovered from Perilous Symphony. We’ll do that first.”

“And the Heartstone?”

“Gar and I welded a shielding container for it,” Rin replied. “It’s in my inventory as well. Don’t worry, okay?”

I shot a glance at Soma. “I am worrying. That thing is evil, Rin, and it emits a field of pure suck. I don’t want to draw Ororgael’s attention here.”

“What?” Soma looked to Rin in alarm. “What is he talking about?”

“We managed to find an intact Warsinger Heartstone,” Rin admitted. “It has the spirit of a Drachan trapped in it, and it’s, umm, kind of active. Our hope is we can fit it into Withering Rose, once we retrieve her… but to do that, we have to defeat the sandworm that’s guarding her in the desert.”

“Hmm. I see.” Soma stroked his moustache. “I don’t see it bringing any great danger to the college, as long as we keep it a guarded secret. I shall assist you with the creation of these weapons, too. Oh, and Dragozin: your ships are finished. I was preparing to send them to your castle tomorrow morning, but now you’re here…?”

“Hang onto them.” I clapped Rin on the shoulder. “If the pair of you can figure out weapons and shielding suitable for fighting the Voidwyrm Empress, we need it installed on those ships. I’ll send the rest of my fleet here for retrofitting.”

“The cost will be significant,” Soma replied cautiously. “And the College is not capable of extending credit. However, my own House may be willing to do so… if required. I know Racsa is still in terrible shape after the war.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Racsa is fine, thanks. And I don’t need credit: you’ll be paid in full. However, as your Voivode, I’m going to request a discount for the sake of the realm. Twenty-five percent off materials and assembly, as per the Volod’s request that we prioritize activity related to the Warsingers.”

Soma turned white, then red, then narrowed his eyes. He really, REALLY wanted to argue… but I’d caught him, and he knew it. “As the Voivode commands. Shall we go and fetch this rare metal stockpile?”

“Sure. Karalti will be glad to get it off her back.” I motioned to the hangar door with my head, then headed off in that direction.

My dragon was crouched down on the tarmac, resting some weight onto her arms and winghands to offset her burden. She pivoted her muzzle toward us as we exited, and let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Finally! Come get this stuff off me!” Her tail lashed as we pulled up to her. “I don’t mind carrying you guys around, but I really don’t like this whole ‘use Karalti as a pack mule’ thing.”

“I know, and I’m sorry we had to ask you. Thanks for helping out, Tidbit.” I went into her Inventory and loaded it into mine, one piece at a time. Both the scrap and the sonic organs from Perilous Symphony went on the cart Soma had brought with him. Rinse and repeat ten times, until Karalti was back to a quarter of her maximum weight and over half a ton of precious metal was stacked beside her.