The Machinist's Apprentice

Chapter 20: Resolution

"So," Jevrem said, sitting on a rock next to where Arvid had propped his book, "this is where you mine magic, is it?"

"Ah...yes," Arvid said somewhat distractedly, though it seemed to Jevrem he was a bit grateful for the excuse to talk to someone for a moment.

"Are there any stones left in these walls that are of any use, do you think?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could.

Now he had Arvid's full attention. "Jevrem," the mage said flatly, "you had better not be thinking about anything too drastic. I've told you already. Magic is too dangerous for the untrained to use freely. You've experienced it first-hand more than once. Acting so recklessly could kill you! I'm sure if we looked we could find something here that would be a devastating weapon, but in the end it would do more harm than good and I'll not hear another word on it!"

Jevrem held his hands up, "No, no! Nothing like that! It's just that I could use something to calm my nerves a bit, and Aina told me about one that soothes. I just thought if there were something like that here that I could carry it for luck."

Arvid looked at him critically for a moment before relaxing a bit and sighing, "Of course. I'm sorry. I'm a bit on edge. None of this has gone exactly how I expected." Jevrem tried to ignore the guilt he felt about lying to Arvid. "I think I know exactly which gem she might've meant," the mage went on, reaching into a pouch at his side, "No need to hunt the mines for it when I've got my own collection right here!" The cheerfulness in his voice was painfully forced, but Jevrem didn't comment. After some hunting, he pulled a familiar pale blue stone out from among the more brilliantly colored gems. "Here," he handed it to Jevrem, "please take it. I think you've earned a little calm." He sighed and looked towards the barrier, "and who knows how long it will last..."

Jevrem took the stone gratefully. Glad that it seemed to be the same as the one he'd seen Aina use and pleased that he was able to get it without much fuss. It was a bit hard to hear the strain in Arvid's voice, however. Keld's betrayal seemed to have hit him hard. Arvid was a manof reason, but Keld could not be made to see it. "We'll be all right," he said as reassuringly as he could, "they don't actually have us cornered. We can run if we need to."

Arvid stood. "But we'll stay," he said quietly, "because he needs to be stopped."

The mage walked away, not even glancing back at Jevrem. He took no offense, it didn't seem an intentional slight, Arvid's mind was simply elsewhere. The mage's determined expression reminded him of Aina's. Both of them were too angry, too hurt by all this, too wrapped up in finally resolving it.

He clutched the gem Arvid had given him tightly. If his plan worked, maybe it could all finally be resolved. He had no way of knowing whether or not it would, but there was no time to run proper tests. He owed so much to them, both Aina and Arvid, not to mention Runa and Stian and Senka most of all. If he could even just break things up just for a moment, just enough time to change the momentum, didn't he owe it to them to try?

His mind made up, he pocketed the stone and made his way to where the plans were being drawn up for the moment the barrier fell. He needed to know how to adapt it to a plan of his own.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There wasn't time for anything too complex. Even someone as magic-illiterate as Jevrem could practically feel Arvid's barrier weakening with every hit. Keld's forces were breaking through.

Once they did, however, the first thing they would meet would be the crawlers. Nimble, agile, and quick, these machines would be able to make their way into Keld's ranks and hopefully cause enough chaos to allow Bojan's men to follow them. The third line was to be made of anew machine. Wheeled cannons, slower but much more powerful than those mounted on the crawlers could them be moved into position and deal damage to Keld's heavy-hitters. Each cannon was built with a thick shield surrounding it that could be locked into the next cannon over, creating a protective wall of firepower. Perhaps not the most clever or complex plan, but given the time they had available to form it and gather the needed components, it would have to do.