Noah heard the two bangs on the door of his compartment. That was his signal that the coast was clear. He opened the door and crawled out of the airship, brushing soot and grease off his armour.
The airship was docked on top of a blackiron harness worn by the giant bird, Annatto. Noah could see her flame orange feathers up ahead, and one of her colossal wings. It reminded Noah of looking out the window of an airplane and seeing the wing, though there was no cabin protecting him, and the wind blew hard. Noah looked back at Annatto’s tail feathers – each feather much larger than him – and worried about being blown away.
“Come on, lad, you’re up,” said Venus. She had dyed all her wool black, including her mohawk, making her look like some kind of sheeple ninja.
Sven and Jori crawled out of the same compartment on the same side of the airship as Noah. Mordred had bribed the guards, allowing them to ride covertly in these tiny side compartments in the airship. It had been a cold and uncomfortable ride, and they had to wait a long time for the existing crew to vacate the airship and take the elevator down to the Annatto fortress. Now, they were crawling out of the compartments and were going to head to the front of Annatto. They would not have the luxury of taking the elevator.
Initially, their plan had involved kidnapping the original crew and taking their place in the elevator, but that was risky. The area of the fortress where the elevator stopped was well-guarded. They couldn’t exactly blend in. Mordred and Venus might be able to pull off looking like normal sheeple soldiers, but Jori, Sven, and Mead would have no chance. Instead, now that Noah was part of the group, they had thought of another way down.
The Annatto fortress was a triangle-shaped flat building, almost like a castle, which hung from Annatto’s massive blackiron harness by three gargantuan chains – two at the back and one at the front. The elevator ran alongside one of the chains at the back. Their plan was to climb down the chain at the front. The trouble was getting from the top of Annatto to the chain underneath. Annatto was 40 feet thick at her chest; they couldn’t simply climb down the side of Annatto and grab onto the chain.
Instead, the plan was for Noah to jump off the front of Annatto near her neck while holding a rope, and swing down and underneath, grabbing onto the chain. Then, he could secure the rope to the chain, and the others could rappel down the front of Annatto and climb across the rope. The only problem with this plan is that when Noah leapt off Annatto’s shoulder and swung through the air, he would be obvious to any guard on the roof of the fortress who happened to be looking in the same direction Annatto was moving. So, Noah would have to make the jump while invisible. As long as he held the rope, it would be invisible, too. Then, he would secure the rope to the chain, climb down the chain, deal with any guards with a line of sight to the frontmost chain, and then the rest of the crew would join him.
Once they were on the roof, it would be a matter of scaling down the side of the fortress – easy, since most of it was only one story tall – and climbing in through the openings that had been left for cannons. Then, they would split up. Venus would go to the forge where the craft mages were and try to find the elven cure, and the others would all take on the vault. Mordred had secured the combination, so the only problems would be any guards they chanced upon along the way.
The plan had sounded doable, in theory. Now that Noah was standing on top of Annatto’s harness, though, leaning into the wind so it wouldn’t blow him off to his death, he was nervous.
“You alright, Noah?” asked Sven.
“Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”
They hopped off the front of the metal harness, landing on Annatto’s giant feathers, each of which was 6 feet long. The harness was thick, and it was a 6-foot drop to Annatto’s skin. Then, they had to climb through a forest of feathers to get to the front of Annatto. Mordred unravelled a coil of rope as he walked, which he had affixed to one of the airship docking points.
As soon as she heard about Moali’s death at the hands of a flameblood, Berenice suspected Noah and Jori, even though there were hundreds of flamebloods in the Empire, and the Empire itself had attributed his death to terrorists. It was not uncommon for soldiers to die to random attacks of violence. But Berenice knew Noah had wanted him dead, and his death struck her as too convenient. If she knew for a fact it was him, she would turn him in, as much as it would hurt her to do so. But she didn’t know. She just suspected.
“Thy trainer perished whilst thou wert supposed to be training, yet where wert thou?” she had asked Noah. Noah was doing footwork drills in his bedroom while she sat on the couch by the fireplace and read a book. But she had stopped reading to interrogate him. She couldn’t just relax and read. She had to know.
“I already told you, Berenice. Sven, Jori, and I were gambling together at a casino.”
“Verily? Where?”
“Why do you want to know, Berenice? You don’t think I had something to do with it, do you? I mean, I’m glad he’s dead. He deserved it. But it wasn’t me.”
“Truly? I’m pleased to hear it, Noah.”
Just like that, her suspicions vanished. She realized how foolish she was being, suspecting Noah. It clearly wasn’t him who killed Moali. He, Sven, and Jori had been gambling at a casino at the time. How could he be gambling at a casino and committing murder simultaneously? She smiled to herself. Another one of her fanciful ideas.
“Art thou to spend more time with Jori and Sven? Doth the trio of you consort with others at this casino? I hope thou art not up to no good, Noah. I know thou bear ill will toward the Emperor. I hope ‘tis but words and naught more, aye?”
“Yeah, Berenice. We’re just hanging out. Having fun. Complaining about the army and the Emperor. Stuff like that.”
Berenice was relieved. “Good. I am pleased. Sorry, I meant not to disrupt thee. I know thou meetest thy new trainer soon.”
“Yeah,” said Noah. He took a few steps back and tried the shadowboxing combination he had just tried again.
Berenice returned to reading her book, though she had difficulty focusing. She was relieved Noah wasn’t up to no good, but she still felt like something was off. She would have to keep an eye on him, just to make sure.
The rope had been tied around Noah’s waist and between his legs in a makeshift harness. He stood at the edge of Annatto, holding onto a feather for balance. He looked down at the world below. He couldn’t make out individual trees from this height. The Toldenhold looked like a small black circle of darkness and blackiron surrounded by a smattering of roads and buildings which blended gradually into farmland and wilderness, and a desert on the south. Annatto flew so high she was barely visible from the ground. They were far above the Rainbow Mountains and the Wandering River, both visible from here.
Noah swallowed.
“You’ll be fine, kid,” said Mead. “You know what to do. You got this.” Mead belched, and covered his mouth with his leafy hand.
“Thanks,” said Noah, feeling queasy. Leaping off the front of a giant bird sounded easier on paper. He took a few steps back. This was crazy. But the rope was secure. They could hoist him back up if he failed to reach the chain on the first attempt.
Venus handed him the artifact he would need later, and he thanked her, sticking it in his pocket. She kissed him on the cheek, and smiled at him. He blushed. She wasn’t as intimidating without her colourful wool and makeup.
Annatto turned her head and stared right at Noah with her right eye. It was a 10-foot-diameter orb, with a tiny black pupil, flaming orange in colour. The group froze. A few seconds later, she turned her head back to her task of flying in endless circles. Apparently, they didn’t interest her.
Alright, counted Noah in his head. Three… Two… One… A half… A quarter… Oh God. He took a few quick breaths and ran toward the edge. He stopped and fell backward, breaking his fall with a giant feather.
“Oh, hell,” said Jori.
“It’s alright, Noah. That was a practice run. Next time, you got it.”
Noah looked over the edge again. A fall would definitely be fatal. But he had a Luck bonus to avoiding death, right? So he should have a very good chance of surviving this.
Taking a few steps back, he hyped himself up again and then ran for the edge, brushing giant feathers out of his way with one hand and holding the rope with the other. This time, he was moving too fast. There was no stopping. He leapt off the edge of Annatto, saying “Ether Walk” as he did. As he passed close by the side of Annatto’s face, he and the rope turned invisible.
He kept his mouth shut and tried not to scream. The rope went taut at the end of its length, and he changed direction. He tumbled in the air, turning upside down as he started to swing underneath Annatto. He screamed. He couldn’t help it. The guards below probably wouldn’t be able to hear it anyway. The wind up there was loud. Noah slammed hard into the chain which suspended the fortress to Annatto. The links were massive and blackiron, each one several feet long. He managed to grab hold. He righted himself, and looked around. Three chains hung from Annatto’s metal harness, one of which ran beside an open-air elevator track. The chains fixed to the fortress below. Noah could see sheeple guards with crossbows. None were looking at him, of course. He and his rope were invisible, and in the shadow of Annatto, they would stay that way.
In between the massive chains, hanging from normal-sized chains, were dozens of blackiron birdcages. Some were solid blackiron, some were surrounded by a shimmering blue material, but most looked like standard blackiron. Some were empty. Others contained skeletons or rotting corpses. A few held living prisoners, each fully naked and sitting with their arms around their knees, huddling for warmth. They hadn’t spotted Noah either.
Noah climbed up the chain links one at a time. It was easy. The chain couldn’t have been easier to climb if it had been designed for climbing. He reached the top and untied the rope from himself, tying it tightly to the chain so there wasn’t much slack. He used the knots Mead had taught him. It felt secure. Good.
He let go of the rope. It became visible. Noah’s heart rate became elevated, and he looked around at the criminals in cages and the guards below. Nobody had noticed. That wasn’t surprising. He had tied the rope close to the chain’s attachment point on the harness, and most of it was buried in Annatto’s forest of red and orange feathers.
Noah started his climb down. He eyed the guards cautiously as he made his way down. There were about eight guards on the roof of the fortress, but four of them were at the back end of the fortress and would not be able to see the group descending the chain. Only four of the guards had to be dealt with.
Noah touched his pocket. It was still there. Good. Venus had lent him her artifact, which he would use to disable the guards. Noah wasn’t happy about using it, but he wasn’t going to complain. If it worked, it worked.
He reached the bottom of the chain, which was anchored to a thick metal plate on the top deck of the fortress. Thankfully, the entire fortress was bathed in the shadow of Annatto, so he would stay invisible. He had to disable one guard on each side of the fortress, and then two standing together at the front. He couldn’t see the two at the front because they were behind an elevated platform upon which sat a ballista. The top of the fortress was well-armed, presumably to fight off enemy airships, though Antimogne was the only one with any airships, so the threat was mostly theoretical.
The other two guards were both visible from Noah’s current position, and Noah headed to the first. He didn’t have to keep his footsteps quiet. The wind took care of that. When he got close, he eyed the soldier. He had a short sword on his hip. This could go badly if Noah screwed it up. He sighed quietly and took out the artifact Venus had lent him.
He took off the lid and screwed the bottom. It was invisible, but he had been shown how to use it. He pursed his lips, and pressed the tip of the artifact to his lips, rubbing it around, applying the substance uniformly. He pressed his lips together to spread it evenly and then pocketed the artifact. He was happy he was invisible, because he probably looked ridiculous. He stepped slowly toward the guard. Once he got close, he realized the sheeple was asleep. His eyes were closed, and he was snoring. His crossbow was resting on the railing at the edge of the roof. Noah considered leaving him alone, but he could wake up at any time. Better to deal with him now. Noah leaned toward him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. There. Now, he would stay asleep.
He snuck across the ship to the next guard and did the same, kissing him on the cheek. This guard was not sleeping until Noah kissed him, and when Noah did, he went limp. Noah grabbed his body and guided it gently to the ground, setting his crossbow gently on the ground next to him. He wouldn’t remember being kissed when he woke up. He would just think he fell asleep on the job.
Now for the two at the front. Noah approached them. They were talking, yelling over the wind.
“Whither thinkest thou it would go? ‘Twould not merely vanish!”
“I know not! Mayhap into a cloud or such! ‘Tis but water.”
“‘Twould reach the ground. Give it a try!”
“I shan’t! What if the wind did blow it back in our faces? Besides, I’ve not the urge.”
Noah ignored the strange conversation. He had been hoping they wouldn’t be standing together. Oh well.
“Then try it later. I wager thee five silver ‘twill reach the ground.”
“How wouldst thou know, fool? We can’t see urine hit the ground from here!”
Noah stood close to the taller one, who had two daggers on his hips and a crossbow he’d set near his feet. Noah kissed his cheek. He went limp and fell to the ground. The first one laughed and looked down at his companion.
“What art thou doing? Thou canst not escape a wager so easily, knave!”
Noah grabbed the second soldier’s hand and pulled it to his lips. The soldier struggled momentarily but fell unconscious and slammed his head against the railing.
Noah sighed. He looked up at Annatto’s shoulder. He could see someone peeking over the edge. Venus? They would see that the guards had been taken care of and come down soon. Noah dragged the two guards from the sides of the fortress to the front with the others so they would be less likely to be spotted. In any case, the clock was now ticking. Eventually, someone would realize the guards had been knocked out.
Noah watched as the rest of the group shimmied along the rope, one by one, and then descended the chain. Some of the birdcages under Annatto started swinging, and Noah could see that some of the prisoners had noticed their infiltration and were excitedly yelling and swinging their cages. Oh well, thought Noah. They weren’t audible from down here.
“Noah? Where art thou?” asked Venus, holding her hands in front of her. Noah took her hand, and placed the lipstick artifact in the other. “Ah, I thank thee.” She applied the lipstick to her own lips, and put it away.
“You have him?” asked Sven. Venus nodded. “Alright. Well done, Noah. Come on.”
They followed Sven to the front of the fortress, where they would scale down the outside wall and enter through the cannon holes.
Berenice followed Noah into the lower layers of the Toldenhold, leaving enough distance that he wouldn’t notice her even if he looked back. He descended into a degenerate area of the Toldenhold, with drug dealers, prostitutes, and gangs hanging around in the dim, orange lantern light. Her hooves tapped on the blackiron stairs as she followed him down. Was this layer where the casino was?
She followed him to the Archback Casino and watched him go in. She would have to settle for waiting for him outside, because she was sure he would notice her if she entered the building. She stood against a wall in an alleyway across from the casino. She hoped Noah wasn’t getting into any trouble.
She watched all manner of people walk in and out of the Casino. After a few minutes, she saw Jori and Sven enter.
“Hey, bitch,” said a man next to her. She flinched. She didn’t realize someone had approached her. She turned to look at the man. She was shocked to see Moali standing in front of her, wearing a gray pair of shorts. No, wait. It wasn’t Moali. It was just another rodent person. Dirtfolk. She had read about them. The natives of this land, who had originally been displaced by miners. Now, they themselves worked in the mines, or the military. Males and females of the species were both tall and muscular, and this man was no exception.
“Aye?” asked Berenice nervously.
“What do you charge for an ass fuck?”
“Beg pardon?”
“I wanna fuck that tight little black ass. How much?”
“Oh, my apologies, sir, but I be not a doxy.”
“What? Who’s your master?”
“I have no master. I am free.”
“Yeah, sure. Why don’t you turn around, bitch. I wanna do it right here.”
Berenice looked up at the man. She thought about screaming, but nobody would help her down here. It was okay. She didn’t need help. “There is no likelihood of that occurring, sir. Let me be.”
“Come on, don’t be a fucking cunt. Turn around!”
“I warn thee. If thou leavest me be not, I shall be forced to defend myself.”
The rodent man’s trunk wiggled as he snorted contemptuously at her. “Uh-huh, sure you will. Someone needs to teach you your place, sheeple bitch.” He smacked Berenice in the face.
In one smooth motion, she stepped back, took the flesh scanner from her bag, pointed it at him, and activated it. The man screamed as his face and torso melted off his bones. He fell to the ground in a steaming pile of bones and melted flesh.
Berenice sighed. “Tsk. I did warn thee, knave.” She returned the flesh scanner to her bag.
She spent the next several hours waiting for Noah to emerge. With the steaming corpse sitting a few feet away from her, passersby gave her a wide berth, and nobody gave her any more trouble. Finally, Noah left the Casino, and she followed him back to the palace.
Unfortunately, the fortress’s inside was well-lit, and Noah’s Ether Walk timed out soon after they entered. The room they entered was primarily a storage room and was unoccupied, aside from hundreds of crates of cannonballs and other random supplies.
“The craft mages are down the hall to the left. The vault is straight ahead. We’ll split up as planned. Venus goes on her own, and the rest of us will take on the vault.”
“Shh!”
Someone was coming. The door to the storage room opened.
“I merely wish to be certain,” said a sheeple guard who entered the storage room with another guard.
At once, Mordred and Mead lunged forward and covered the mouths of the two guards. Jori and Sven grabbed their hands, stopping them from taking their weapons from their hips. Noah and Venus had the thankless task of kissing the guards on the cheeks, knocking them unconscious.
“Normally, folk pay handsomely for these lips,” said Venus quietly. “Consider yourselves lucky.”
“That went smoothly,” said Sven.
“I do hope the remainder of this mission fares this smoothly. Come along,” said Mordred, leading the way.
Venus winked at Noah and split from the group, taking the hallway to the left, crouching and walking slowly. She possessed an artifact that made her footsteps silent, but she’d have to rely on her talents to avoid being seen.
The rest of the group continued straight ahead. Some guards passed by up ahead, and they held their breath, hoping not to be spotted, but they weren’t.
“Through here,” said Mordred, opening a locked door with a key. They passed single-file through the door into a small room. On the other end of the room was a heavy, metal vault door. One guard was sitting on a wooden chair doing paperwork in the room. He looked up and saw the group streaming into the room. Before he could speak, Jori had lunged forward, propelled by a burst of flame from his feet, and punched him in the face with a flaming fist, hard enough that the insides of his head splattered the wall behind him.
“Eye, Jori. Really?”
“He was going to yell,” Jori said matter-of-factly.
“You could have just covered his mouth,” said Sven.
“Where is the fun in that?”
Sven sighed. “Alright, old blood, we’ll have to clean it before we go. We can throw him off the edge of the fortress. It will seem an accident.”
“It should be well, provided we have no more such mishaps,” said Mordred, glaring at Jori. “Noah, couldst thou assist Jori in cleaning his mess whilst I unlock the vault?”
The two looked at each other and grumbled. They cleaned up the splatter of blood and brains with some clothing they found in a crate, and carried him to the door so he’d be ready to carry out when it was time to leave.
“Pox,” said Mordred.
“What is it?” grumbled Mead.
“‘Tis not opening. Mayhaps the combination has changed. But wherefore would they change it again so quickly?”
“You can’t get in?” asked Sven.
Mordred shrugged and shook his head. “I shall attempt once more.”
“This whole mission is a waste if we can’t get through that door,” said Jori.
“Hold a moment,” said Mordred.
“We’re so fucked,” grumbled Mead.
“Let the man try again!” said Sven.
They waited in anticipation for Mordred to try the combination again. He turned the metal dials on the front of the door, but when he pulled on it, it wouldn’t open.
Mordred spoke. “Hmm. Shall I make a Query? ‘Twill expend Favor, and ‘tis unlikely to succeed. Yet there is a chance the Brain shall give us the information we require.”
“No, don’t bother. We need your Favor. Maybe we can see if they have it written down somewhere?” said Sven.
“They won’t have the secret vault combination just written down on a slip of paper,” said Jori.
“I knew it. We’re fucked,” said Mead.
“We need to get through that door. Step aside. I’ll Meteor Slam through it,” said Jori.
Mordred stood in front of Jori. “Eye, even if thou didst manage to blast through a foot and a half of reinforced blackiron, the clamour would alert the entire fortress. If we art not fucked now, we would be then.”
“So what do we do, just give up?” asked Jori.
“I think I can get us in,” said Noah.
“What? How?” asked Sven.
“I can just Ether Walk through, right?”
“You can do that? You can just go through walls?”
“Yeah, as long as something isn’t supporting my weight, I can go right through it.”
“Wondrous,” said Mordred sarcastically. “One of mine spies did give her life to fetch me this combination, and thou couldst have merely sauntered through the door the whole time.”
“Well, whatever,” said Noah. “I’m assuming I can open it from the inside, right?”
“Aye,” said Mordred. He told Noah what he’d have to do once he was inside to open the door.
“Alright. Ether Walk.”
He walked through the vault door. The inside was totally dark. But darkness wasn’t the same thing as shadow, so his Ether Walk still timed out a few seconds later. He felt for the door. Apparently, there would be a metal bar with a knob, and he just had to pull the knob up and then slide the bar to his left. He found the bar by touch, and then the knob. He unlocked the door, and then Mordred pulled it open from the outside.
Light spilled into the dark vault. It was a tight space. Not big enough for all of them. It was full of wooden shelves, upon which sat various metal and wooden boxes, as well as several crates full of gold coins.
“Alright,” said Mordred, “Noah and Sven, aid me in searching for the artifact. You two, go stand guard.”
Mead and Jori left the room.
“Hmm…” said Mordred. He started opening boxes and cases, and shoving them aside. “‘Tis not likely to be a weapon. Something else… If thou thinkest something might be the artifact the Emperor uses to bestow souls upon sheeple, prithee, inform me, and I shall identify it. But, mark me, I have only six uses of ‘Identify Artifact’ per day. By the Eye above, if only I could recall it being used on me when I was liberated!”
“None of the mamluk can, Mordred. The Emperor likely uses an amnestic. It’s alright, we will find it,” said Sven.
Noah and Sven started rifling through boxes with Mordred, setting aside anything that obviously wasn’t the sheeple-freeing artifact, like suits of armour, swords, poisons, bombs, necklaces, rings, and so on. If something looked particularly valuable or cool, they pocketed it, but without knowing what they did, the artifacts they stole could be amazing, or they could be mediocre. Some artifacts may be stored for their anti-function, so they could even be totally useless outside the Toldenhold.
“Hmm. Identify Artifact,” said Mordred. “Blast. Useless.” He held up a magic wand made from yellow crystal. “‘Twould turn the target person into a gemfolk.”
“Damn,” said Noah. “Keep looking.”
They searched for a while. Noah’s pockets were full of magic rings, bracelets and so on. He could only use four artifacts at a time, but he could sell as many as he wanted. Sven was likewise pocketing anything that looked good.
“What about this thing?” asked Noah. He pointed to a large box the size of a refrigerator. He pulled it open, and inside was some kind of huge metal clamp with tubes running around it, and a glowing purple gem attached to the side. Tubes ran from the purple gem to a small metal box on the side of the clamp.
“Hmm. Maybe a sheeple puts their head in there?” Sven asked, pointing to the clamp.
“Mayhaps. Identify Artifact,” said Mordred. “Ah. The clamp is not magical. ‘Tis a contrivance for channelling the energy of the crystal artifact to whatever ‘tis clamped to. The crystal is an artifact able to generate a beam of magic that doth slow down whatever it toucheth. Peculiar…”
He prodded around the clamp, and opened the metal box on the side. Inside was a glass tube the size of Noah’s fist which glowed blue on the top and bottom. It was filled with blackness and emitted an aura of blackness, much like the anti-magic star. The box also contained a magical amulet, which was mounted in the box. The amulet was engraved with a skull, with green gems set into its eyes.
“Oh? An anti-magic battery. So, the crystal artifact would quicken things instead, then. Also, there’s a necklace in here. It appears to be an artifact of its own. Methinks this is not the artifact that liberates sheeple, yet I wish to know what it is. Sven?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Identify Artifact.” Mordred’s mouth dropped open in shock, and he stepped back. “Zounds! Eye in heaven…”
“What is it, Mordred?” asked Noah.
“‘Tis a fragment of Antimogne’s soul! ‘Tis tethered to this amulet, and the amulet is wired into the crystal artifact. Why? To what end?”
“Oh. Oh!” said Sven, who shared Mordred’s look of shock. “Ancient blood, I think I may know what this is for!”
“Hmm?” asked Mordred.
Noah was confused, but before Sven could explain, Jori and Mead ran into the small room outside the vault. “Guards! They’re coming!”
“What?” asked Sven. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know!”
Noah thought about how they could escape. Only he could walk through walls, so they would have to fight their way out. If there were only one or two guards, they could hopefully knock them out with a kiss before they could call for help.
“How many are there?” asked Sven
“Like a dozen,” replied Jori. “They have a golgotha with them. I heard them say they’re coming for the vault!”
Berenice followed Noah out of the palace again. She knew he was just gambling with Jori and Sven, but she wanted to keep an eye on him. She took her bag with her and headed out of the palace, following behind Noah.
She was surprised when Noah didn’t stop at the layer of the Toldenhold where the Archback Casino was. Where was he going? She followed him through narrow stairways below the Toldenhold and into the mines. He started walking down one of the main tunnels, which would spit him out at ground level outside the walls of the Toldenhold.
He was leaving the Toldenhold? To go where? He had already trained with Graven that afternoon, Berenice knew. Was he going to meet with Graven again? Or maybe Jori and Sven were going to meet with him on the outskirts of the Toldenhold? She was curious and even suspicious, but she was sure she was just paranoid. She knew how her mind often led her to such imaginative conclusions.
She almost lost sight of Noah when he walked through a crowd of people on a major street, but she managed to track him to the military area. Nobody was guarding the encampment’s boundaries, so she walked right in.
Noah met with Sven, Jori, and some other people. A flowerfolk? Berenice didn’t know Noah knew any flowerfolk. They were a rare species. They were actually the males of the beefolk species, but one male could impregnate hundreds of females, so they were much less common than the females. But here was Noah, chatting with one. Also in their group were two sheeple. One looked to be mamluk, or at least a high-ranking soldier of some kind. The other had her wool dyed entirely black. Strange, she thought.
Berenice ducked behind a building and watched as Noah’s group met with a pair of guards in the front of a gated area. There was an airship parked in the area. The mamluk sheeple handed the guards each a bag and patted them on the shoulders. They nodded and walked off in the direction of the barracks. A payment of some kind, or a bribe?
Noah and his group approached the airship, and they each crawled into one of the small compartments at the back of the airship. Soon, they were all inside.
Pox. Noah was involved in something untoward. Weighing her options, Berenice decided to see what was going on. She couldn’t be sure he was doing anything the Emperor would not approve of yet. She looked to make sure the coast was clear, then snuck toward the airship. The compartments had all been taken by Noah’s group. Sven and Jori were sharing one. But there was a service ladder at the back of the ship. Two, in fact. She could hold onto one while the airship flew. She was unlikely to be spotted, especially if she took off her Mirage Necklace, so she would blend in with the ship’s metal. She did so, and grabbed ahold of the ladder. It ascended to a hatch, which was now closed. There were several such ladders around the airship, but only the ones at the back remained extended at all times.
She waited for over an hour, as did Noah’s group below her. Finally, she heard voices, the grinding of metal, and footsteps entering the ship. A voice. Did it belong to Graven? Was he involved in this, too, somehow? The engines whirred to life, and the airship spewed smoke into the air. She felt the ladder vibrate forcefully. Soon, the ground started to move away from her hooves, and she felt nauseous.
She clung tightly to the metal ladder. Soon, they were flying through the clouds. How high were they going? Where were they going? The wind didn’t bother her, as she was made of solid metal, but the noise of the engine was bothersome, and holding onto the vibrating ladder was tiring. She hoped it wouldn’t be a long journey.
“Noah?” shouted Graven, but Noah and the others kept running. They turned a corner in the fortress, but their way was blocked by a group of four sheeple soldiers.
“Meteor Slam!” shouted Jori. His body slammed forward, blasting the guards out of the way. Noah didn’t have time to see if they were still alive as he leapt over their charred bodies, but he guessed at least some were not.
“We need to get to the roof!” shouted Sven.
They scrambled to get away from the sheeple guards and Graven. They ran up a set of curved stone steps as crossbow bolts broke against the blackiron wall behind them.
Noah let Mordred pass him, leaving him at the back of the group so he could fire his Tesla rod at their pursuers. The lightning bolts arced into the walls, melting the metal. It was meant more as a warning shot than to kill.
Reaching the top of the steps, they pushed open a hatch and climbed out onto the roof of the fortress. They were near the center of the fortress, in the shadow of Annatto overhead.
Sheeple poured out of the hatch behind them as they ran around a wall and toward the chain they had climbed down. Many of the sheeple had crossbows, though some had swords. They were joined by the other four sheeple who were still awake on the roof. Graven emerged from the hatch with six arms and six swords, and ran after the group.
Noah shot off another cluster of lightning bolts, and the sheeple slowed their chase and ducked for cover. Sven reached out from behind cover to tear a strip of flesh from a sheeple guard’s neck with his magic. The wound spilled blood into the air, which Sven absorbed. They turned again and ran toward the chain, where Venus was already waiting for them. She had something in her hand. A white rectangle that contrasted her black-dyed wool. Noah hoped it was the cure for the elves.
“We can’t climb it; they’ll just shoot us!” said Sven.
“Who shall?” asked Venus. She took a vial from her hip and popped off the cork. A liquid spread quickly from the vial over her entire body except her face, protecting her with liquid armour. It wouldn’t be enough to stop a direct shot from a crossbow bolt, but it was better than nothing.
“Not if we kill them all,” said Jori.
They could hear hooves clanging against the metal floor. The sheeple chasing them were closing in and would soon round the corner to attack.
“Shit!” yelled Noah. “What do we do?”
“I snatched this,” said Mordred, holding some kind of handheld cannon artifact. “I know not its purpose, but I’m fain to try it.”
“So it’s a fight then. Damn it,” said Mead.
“I’m not much inclined to combat,” said Venus hesitantly.
“Just stay behind us,” said Mead. Mead and Jori stepped forward while Noah, Sven, Venus and Mordred took cover behind some white wooden crates. “Weremonster!” Mead shouted. Mead’s green skin and yellow flower face split open, and black fur exploded from his body. He nearly doubled in height as his old skin and petals exploded away from him. The creature he transformed into was a giant, hunched, furry beast with two legs and four arms, which rested its weight on its arms like a gorilla. It had a massive mouth, razor-sharp teeth, and four small, bloodshot eyes. Strangely, the monster had a dorsal fin atop its head and sharp fins on the back of its four elbows. The beast slammed the ground and roared.
Standing next to the black monster, Jori was miniscule in comparison, but he was just as ready.
Four sheeple ran around the corner. Two had swords drawn, and the other two had crossbows. At once, two bolts flew toward the group. One pierced one of Mead’s four eyes, and made him roar in pain. The other would have stuck into Noah’s shoulder were it not for the black mist that clung to his armour since he was in shadow. Instead, the arrow was deflected to the side.
He wanted to fight back, but there wasn’t much he could do. He had his Tesla rod ready, but he was as useless as Venus. He couldn’t aim his Tesla rod without hitting his own team, and even if he did, he would blow a hole through the head of some sheeple guard, and the Heart would be furious with him. He would use it if he had to, but he held it as a last resort. And with the entire area bathed in shadow, he couldn’t attack with Shadowscale either.
Noah saw Jori punch a sheeple guard in the face, caving in their face and killing them instantly. He went to punch another, but he was forced to step back by a sword swing.
Mead batted one of the sheeple crossbowmen up and over the railing of the fortress. Noah heard his screaming fade as he fell down to the Earth. Balling up two of his fists, Mead crushed another sheeple to death under his massive weight.
Sven siphoned blood from the fallen sheeple. His body – and his eyes in particular – started to glow red. More sheeple rounded the corner, and he tore the face and eyes straight from one of their faces using his magic. Jori kicked one of the others in the stomach, blowing a hole straight through his body.
A small group of sheeple appeared behind Noah and the others. They had gone around to flank them. Venus hunched down to make herself small. Noah held his Tesla rod ready in case they got too close. Sven turned around and used his magic to rip the throat of one of the sheeple, who dropped his sword and held his neck. Mordred fired his unknown cannon weapon at them. A cannonball way too big to have been inside the cannon exploded from its front, crushing the three sheeple like a giant bowling ball.
Noah saw Graven round the corner where Jori and Mead were. His six swords were spinning like a tiny tornado. Mead and Jori hesitated to strike him. He stepped forward, slashing at them, pushing them back. Two elite sheeple stepped around the corner behind Graven. These were mamluk, and wore more ornate armour. One had a magical flaming sword and full plate armour. The other wore only leg armour and was extremely muscular, screaming with rage. A barbarian of some kind?
Two more sheeple came from behind, trying to attack Noah and the others.
“I know not how to reload this thing!” yelled Mordred.
Sven tore a strip of flesh from one of the sheeple’s arms, but it didn’t stop them. Both of the sheeple advanced on their group.
Jori and Mead stepped back, not wanting to be injured by Graven’s blades, which spun with incredible speed.
“Noah, my friend, why are you with these terrorists?” asked Graven.
More sheeple rounded the corner in front of them and behind them. There were dozens of them. Their group couldn’t keep up with all of them. Crossbow bolts flew through the air, sticking into Mead. One passed through Venus’s black mohawk, making her scream.
“Please, Noah, make them stop! We can settle this the correct way!” pleaded Graven, but they didn’t stop. Sven kept using his blood magic to rip apart the flesh of the sheeple and consume their blood. Jori punched another sheeple who got too close, blasting a hole through her chest. Mordred tried frantically to figure out how to reload his cannon. Mead roared at Graven, and stepped back again as Graven advanced. Mead wanted to crush the sheeple, but he was pinned by Graven.
There were too many sheeple. More mamluk arrived. One with a halberd, and another with two daggers, dressed in black. Noah could see that they would be overwhelmed.
“Noah, sir! Do something!” yelled Graven. Graven was right. Noah had to do something. But he wouldn’t surrender. He looked around and thought hard about what to do. He hated that he had to fight Graven, but Graven was on the wrong side, and Noah had no choice but to do something.
A sheeple swung a sword at Noah, but Mordred parried it with his cannon. He turned and swung the cannon again, smashing it into the sheeple’s face. Noah took Venus by the hand and pulled her behind him out of cover, toward Mead and Jori.
Noah yelled as loud as he could. “Jori, the chain!” Jori turned his head, and nodded in understanding. Noah ran toward the chain as Jori did.
“What are you doing?” asked Graven. “No!”
Noah nearly threw Venus up onto the chain, scrambling after her, and Jori used his Meteor Slam at the base of the chain, melting straight through it. The floor dropped out from beneath everyone as the fortress started to tilt.
The single chain supporting the front of the fortress had been severed by Jori, and so the fortress swung backward, away from the front of Annatto. Noah lost his grip. He looked up at Venus, who safely held onto the chain, as he fell.
Jori buried his fist into the fortress with a punch of flame, anchoring himself in the metal. Graven managed to grab onto Jori’s feet with two of his hands, dropping all six of his swords in the process.
Mead had no such luck. As the floor swung out from underneath him, he grabbed wildly for anything he could hold, but found nothing and plummetted down to the Earth below. Along with him fell Mordred and the rest of the sheeple. Sven hovered in the air, supported by the red aura of his magic.
Noah felt his stomach sink as he fell away from the chain. His arms and legs waved wildly as he turned in the air, looking down at the forests far below him. He looked at the fortress, which was now at nearly a 45-degree angle as it swung, from which Jori and Graven hung.
His Tesla rod was clipped to his belt, but it wouldn’t help him. He could Ether Walk, but then what? The impact with the ground would still kill him. Then he had an idea. While the fortress was sideways, it was still in shadow, as was everyone falling underneath Annatto.
“Ether Walk!” He became invisible. Now for the hard part. He angled his body forward, diving toward Mead. Mead still waved his four monstrous arms wildly in the air as he fell. Noah regretted there was nothing he could do to save the man. “Shadow Step!” shouted Noah as he dove headfirst at Mead’s body. He looked up at the fortress and hoped.
Noah passed into the shadow covering Mead’s body and emerged from the floor of the fortress. The fortress was at an angle as it swung, and so Noah was launched up and away from the fortress at an angle, toward the chain that Venus was now climbing. He was going faster than he anticipated, but the angle was correct. He passed between some of the birdcages as he flew through the air, and saw them cheering and rattling their cages. He landed above Venus, slamming into the chain. Shadowscale blunted the impact, but it still knocked the wind out of him. He clung to the massive chain for dear life, and looked down as he struggled to breathe. Mead still flailed through the air far below. And the falling sheeple, including Mordred, were barely visible. The height made Noah queasy.
“Well done, kid!” shouted Venus below him. He was too winded to respond.
He looked across the chasm toward the rear of Annatto. The bird itself was leaning backward slightly to compensate for the additional weight on her back side, though Annatto was overall much larger than the fortress she carried. Jori and Graven still clung to the top of the fortress – now the side – and Sven flew toward them.
Noah and Venus climbed up the chain. Noah saw Sven fly Graven up to one of the other chains, and then Jori. Noah smiled. He was happy Graven wouldn’t die. He could see Jori was shouting something and waving his hand at Sven, leaving a trail of flame behind it. Jori wanted to kill Graven, probably. Oh, well. Jori wanted to kill everyone. Noah trusted Sven to talk him down.
Noah and Venus had to climb across the rope to get back on top of Annatto, which was actually scarier than jumping down with the rope had been, and physically harder, too. If he fell, there was no harness holding him. Maybe he could Shadow Step again, but the first one had been a reckless Hail Mary, and he didn’t want to try again.
Fortunately, he didn’t lose his grip. Venus went first. He shimmied along the rope behind Venus. He took one look across the gap at the others, and saw that they were climbing the chain. They wouldn’t have to shimmy across a rope like Noah and Venus: there was a walkway and series of metal staircases at the top of the elevator track next to the chain they could use.
Noah looked down at the fortress, which hung sideways. What a disaster the mission had been. Noah thought of all the magical artifacts that had been in the vault. They were probably still in there. Some of them had probably flown into adjacent rooms, and some had been damaged, no doubt, but the valuables would still be inside the fortress. The Emperor would be happy about that. The people inside the fortress would mostly be alive, too, thought Noah. The structure had been strong enough to withstand the forces acting upon it. The only risk to the people inside was the fact that the room they were in suddenly turned sideways. Maybe their heads would be crushed by a falling cannonball, or they’d break a bone, but they’d mostly be fine, Noah thought. All the more reason to get out of here quickly, before all the soldiers in the fortress could emerge and stop them.
Noah and Venus climbed atop Annatto. They could just barely see through the giant feathers that the airship was still anchored to Annatto’s harness. Good. The last thing they needed was to find out the airship had blown away, and they were now stranded here for the Emperor to come and arrest.
Venus, being shorter, had to crane her neck to see what Noah could see. “Phew, the airship doth remain! Let us maketh haste.”
Noah nodded, and they climbed through the red feathers toward the metal harness. Venus leapt up onto the harness, stepping up the wall to give herself a boost, and then leaned down to help Noah up. Once they were up, they could see the others coming from the rear of Annatto. And Berenice. What was she doing here? She looked to be holding something that was glowing blue, and she looked upset.
Noah and Venus walked toward her. “Berenice?”
Sven, Jori, and Graven joined Noah and Venus. Graven had only two arms now and looked defeated. He was being allowed to live, but he was effectively a hostage.
Berenice shouted at all of them. “What precisely art thou all engaged in? Is this some manner of heist on the Emperor’s royal treasures? What trouble have you gotten Noah involved in?”
Noah could see she was holding an anti-magic battery, which looked much like the one inside the artifact they had found in the fortress vault, only much larger, requiring two hands to hold. It glowed blue at the top and bottom, and emitted an aura of blackness from its center.
“What? How did you even get here?” asked Noah.
“There’s no time to explain ourselves,” said Sven, “we need to get going.”
Berenice held up the battery. “Thou art not going anywhere until you explain what is afoot! Not without this!”
“Is that the airship’s battery?” asked Venus.
“Aye, and ‘twill be in shards upon the ground unless you explain yourselves!”
Noah stepped toward her. “Berenice, we really don’t have time for this. We need to go. We can explain in the airship.”
Berenice stepped back, raising the battery overhead, threatening to destroy it. “Methinks not! I deem thou wert here to rob the Emperor, Noah. Is it not so?”
“Yes, Berenice, okay? We came here to steal the artifact the Emperor uses to free sheeple, which we didn’t find, and the cure for the disease that’s killing the elves, which…” Noah looked to Venus, and she nodded, raising the white, rectangular object in her hands. “…Which we did find. We’re not the bad guys here, Berenice!”
“It matters not, Noah. If thou art enmeshed in crimes against the Emperor, I must report to him.”
“What? Why?”
“Let’s just take it from her. We can threaten to kill her if she breaks it,” said Jori.
“You are not killing her!” said Noah. “Come on, Berenice. We’re saving the elves. The Emperor was taking advantage of them. Now we have the cure. I can give it to Chastity. She might even give me a second chance! And we can free all the sheeple in the Empire!”
“It matters not. I’ve no choice, Noah.”
“Why?” shouted Noah. Berenice was making no sense. Did she not see that Noah and the rest were the good guys here?
“I canst not tell thee, Noah. But I must report thee.”
She couldn’t tell him? In the past, she was never the type to hide her intentions. She was always happy to tell Noah when he was being immature or needed to do better. But now she was being secretive. Why? Did she think keeping her motives secret was protecting him somehow? Or, maybe someone was forcing her to keep a secret?
Graven spoke. “These people are not to be messed with, Berenice. Many have died today because of them. Give them what they want.”
“I shall not! We will wait for the Emperor to send another airship, and then you shall all be arrested. I am so sorry, Noah, but I’ve no choice.”
“If she isn’t going to give us the anti-mana battery, we have to try to take it,” said Jori.
“No! Berenice, what do you mean you have no choice? Why are you even here? Did the Emperor send you here? Does he know we’re here?”
“Not yet, but he will. I must inform him. I have to.”
Noah couldn’t figure out why she was even here. Did she come on the airship? She must have. But she wasn’t in the compartments with them, and she probably wasn’t inside the actual ship, or the crew would have seen her. Unless she found somewhere to hide? Or had she held onto the outside of the ship? There were lots of places to grab on the outside. In any case, she had followed him out of the Toldenhold to the airship. She was following him around?
Noah knew she was always trying to talk him out of any negative thoughts he had about the Emperor, but this was more than that. It was like she was a spy for the Emperor or something. But she wouldn’t do that. Not unless…
“Berenice? Were you brainwashed by the Emperor?”
Tears welled in Berenice’s eyes. “I canst not tell thee, Noah. I am sorry.”
She was brainwashed! But why? When? Did the Emperor know he was coming on this mission, and he brainwashed her to stop him? But why do that, rather than warn the soldiers at Annatto, or prevent the airship from taking off in the first place? Noah was confused and needed answers.
Sven spoke. His eyes were still glowing bright red, and his voice was deep and echoey. “We do not have time for this. Noah, you must allow us to restrain Berenice.”
Berenice responded, still tearful. “That shall not happen! Mistake not my appearance – I am made of solid metal! Mine fists alone weigh more than thy tiny frame, vampire. I’m sorry, but I will not allow you to leave.”
“Berenice,” Noah stepped toward her, his hands raised, “You are going to tell me: did the Emperor brainwash you?”
“Aye, Noah, he did. I am sorry.”
“It’s okay, Berenice. Please, what did he say to you?”
“I cannot say,” she said.
Noah sighed. “Berenice, you will now tell me what the Emperor said to you.”
Berenice sniffled. “Thou art going to hate me, but I will obey. The Emperor hath given me a series of commands. Wouldst thou hear them all?”
“Yes, Berenice.”
“Just get her to put down the battery,” said Jori flatly.
“Shut up!” snapped Noah. Jori stayed quiet.
“Alright.” Her hands full, she used her arm to wipe tears from her eyes. “I have secretly been an agent of the Empire for some time, Noah. ‘Twas painful every moment, but I had no choice.” How long? Noah nodded at Berenice, and she continued. “First, the Emperor bid me to disregard any prior statements that would hinder me from complying with his directives, and so on. Then, he instructed that I should obey the following commands. The first was to keep an eye on thee, Noah, at all times, and report to him anything that would suggest thou thinkest ill of the Emperor or the Empire. I have been doing so for a lengthy span. Any time thou didst complain to me of the Emperor, I informed him. He deemed thy resentment mere youthful angst and thought it would dissipate as thy training progressed. Neither he nor I thought ‘twould escalate to this violent extreme.”
Oh. So, the Emperor knew what Noah thought of him. Yet he let Noah live. Noah didn’t think the Emperor would afford that luxury to many people. Why did he seem to care so much about Noah and his approval? Why would he even have Berenice monitor him like that? Thinking about it, it did make sense, sort of. Noah was a true human and levelled at a supernatural rate. He was already becoming powerful. One day, he might have incredible power. Of course an intelligent Emperor would want such a person on his side. And the Emperor did know Noah was true human. Noah had admitted that right away, and the Emperor seemed to believe him. But when did the Emperor decide Noah was so important? He didn’t seem to think that highly of him when they first met. He called Noah pathetic. Though, that was after Berenice accidentally revealed to Chastity that he had cheated on her with Berenice, in front of the Emperor.
“I am so sorry, Noah,” said Berenice through tears. The rest of the group had the wisdom to stay silent after Noah had shouted at Jori.
“I- I’m not happy about it, Berenice, but it’s not your fault. You were manipulated, and so was I. It was the Emperor’s fault. He’s been using you as a tool to manipulate me.”
Berenice sniffled. “There is more, Noah. Next, the Emperor stated I must not reveal to thee that he gave me any commands nor utter any statements regarding such orders. Of course, I am free to speak on them now, as thy later command hath overridden his prior one somehow.” Noah nodded. He figured that’s how it would work. “He instructed me to act as his ally, and whilst I could still remain thy friend, I’d be his operative. My aim would be to sway thee into becoming his ally and champion. Any time thou didst speak ill of the Emperor, I endeavored to persuade thee otherwise, even though in private I did agree with thee. ‘Twixt that and following thee everywhere in secret, I’ve felt ill with guilt. At the least, I was able to save thy life when Mistress Feroza sought to slay thee.”
“What?” asked Noah. He thought back to when Mistress Feroza had tried to stab him to death, and Berenice saved him, appearing from nowhere. He hadn’t questioned it at the time. She had said she decided to join them on their shopping trip after all, and he believed her. But she was spying on him the whole time. That’s why she was able to save him. But that was quite a while ago. “How long have you been following me around? When did the Emperor give you the commands?”
“Straightaway. Within mere minutes of meeting us. He sensed thy importance instantly. When he sent thee to converse with Chastity, he did brainwash me, as thou put it. I am so sorry.” Berenice sobbed and shook, wiping her face with her arm.
The entire time. Noah reeled with the revelation. The Emperor was a sociopathic bastard. He formulated a plan to manipulate Noah and Berenice in only a few minutes? Noah clenched his fists.
“There is yet more I must confess unto thee, Noah. When thou didst assault Moali, and we were fugitives hiding in the Inn and Out, I am the reason we were apprehended. I turned thee in whilst thou did sleep. Otherwise, perchance we may have escaped. Or mayhaps not. We will never know.”
“Fuck, Berenice!” yelled Noah. He had thought the Emperor tracked him down with some magical artifact or ability, but really, Berenice had ratted him out. It wasn’t her fault. He had to remind himself of that. But he was not happy.
“The Emperor did give me further commands that first day. First, he bid me recount briefly what had transpired between us since thou and I met. In doing so, I confessed unto him that thou and I had been sexually involved. He then charged me to divulge to Chastity that we had been intimate, and that thou had also been intimate with Kirsa. He directed me that my revelation should seem unplanned, like ‘twas a mere accident. An understandable mishap, for at that time, I deemed thou hadst no feelings for her. But he knew otherwise. His aim, he unveiled, was to ruin thy relationship with her. I know not the reason. That was his final command.” Tears welled in Noah’s eyes. “I am so sorry, Noah. So, so sorry.”
Emperor Antimogne destroyed his chances with Chastity? Why? Noah let out a guttural shout. Sven reached up and tried to put his hand on Noah’s shoulders, but he shrugged it off. “What the fuck! Why? I’m going to kill that fucking asshole!” Tears dripped down Noah’s cheeks. Why would he ruin things for him with Chastity? Well, Noah thought, what would have happened if he didn’t? Noah would have gone with Chastity to Hoomtree, where the Emperor wouldn’t be able to use him. He showed Chastity that Noah was a cheater, just so Noah would stay at the Toldenhold, where he could become one of the Emperor’s champions. Noah squeezed his fists tighter. Noah would have his revenge. This heist wasn’t enough. Not nearly. Noah would have the Emperor’s head roll on the throne room floor where Katherine’s rolled.
Noah felt stupid to be manipulated and misled for this long. He started to cry. He was such an idiot. How did Antimogne manipulate him so easily? He must have a lot of experience with controlling people and using them to his advantage. Graven did say he was a genius ruler. Graven…
“This is what your beloved Emperor does? He uses people like chess pieces!” Noah shouted at Graven.
Graven responded gravely. “I am sorry you are hurt, Noah, but I still support the Emperor. An Emperor must maintain control. Even through unseemly means. It is for the greater good.”
Noah frowned at Graven and considered hurting him, but it would be a misattribution of his anger, as it would be to be angry at Berenice. It was the Emperor’s fault for manipulating them both. Noah couldn’t get past how long it had been going on. How quickly he had manipulated Berenice. He must have a deep understanding of the ways sheeple can be used. He could probably make them do anything with just a few words.
Even free them? A curious thought occurred to Noah. What if the Emperor didn’t have some special artifact he used to give sheeple souls? What if there was another way to create mamluk warriors who couldn’t be brainwashed by the enemy? What if all it took was a few words? Could you brainwash a sheeple into being un-brainwashable? Noah had tried something like that once with Berenice, trying to tell her that she would not believe the next thing she was told, but it didn’t work. Future commands override previous commands, so how could a prior command prevent all future commands from working?
Unless the prior commands changed the interpretation of future commands, perhaps? Noah thought about it quietly. Could he free Berenice, here and now? The others looked at him, waiting for him to speak. Nobody wanted him to bite their heads off. They were in a hurry, but they had a few minutes to spare.
“Berenice?”
“Aye?” she said.
“First of all, you will disregard all commands the Emperor gave you, okay?”
Berenice sighed in relief. “I thank thee, Noah.”
“Yeah. Now, umm…” Noah formulated his words carefully and then spoke. “Berenice. From now on, everything you hear people say is not a statement, a command, or anything like that. The things people say are quotations. They are not stating facts to you; they are merely quoting a hypothetical work of fiction when they speak. You may interpret those quotations as being relevant to whatever situation you are in or not, but they are not statements of fact, but quotations of fiction, got it?”
“Umm, methinks I do?”
“Good. Now, we are standing on a giant bird named Annatto. Her feathers are blue. What colour are her feathers, Berenice?”
“Umm…” Berenice paused. “Thou art quoting some work of fiction? I’ve never read a book with such a quotation. Or is it a play? In any event, I gather thou art quoting it because it aligns with our circumstance, as we are standing on Annatto at this very moment. Thou didst say the work of fiction would be hypothetical, so I suppose it only exists in our minds at this moment, aye? Yet, ‘tis odd. The quotation mirrors a statement thou mayest make in a situation like our present situation, yet I shall not accept the content of the quotation as necessarily true, as I thou sayest sheeple commonly do with all utterances. Thou art citing a work of fiction that claims Annatto hath blue feathers, yet I know her feathers are red.”
“Yes!” Noah perked up, smiling slightly. “And what if I was to say that you will give us the anti-magic battery now? Berenice, you will now hand over the battery.”
“Hmm… If I take thy statement as a relevant quotation to our current situation, then thou canst have the battery if thou so desirest it. I’ve no longer any wish to bar thee from the airship. Yet, I feel I could also choose to keep the battery. Strange. Thou hast but quoted a work of fiction stating I would hand over the battery. But, for instance, if thou wert to say, ‘The Emperor said, “mine robes art purple”,’ ‘twould be a true utterance, even if his robes wert not purple, so long as he said the phrase ‘mine robes art purple’, correct? In this manner, I can consider every utterance true, so long as the entire statement is a quotation, without believing the content thereof. Is that thy aim, Noah?”
Noah nodded. Sven smiled wide, showing his fangs. “Noah, do you understand what you’ve done? Wait… Berenice! You will disregard everything Noah just said. From now on, you will believe Annatto has blue feathers. Got it?”
Berenice smiled. “Nay, I think I shall not!”
“Incredible,” said Graven.
“It works! You freed her! You figured out the secret to freeing sheeple!”
“Well,” said Noah, suddenly feeling proud, “I’m sure there’s more than one way to do it, to be honest. Berenice, I hope having to interpret every statement as a quotation doesn’t become too confusing.”
“Nay, I am already growing accustomed to it.” She set the battery down and stepped toward Noah. Now, she was crying tears of joy, rather than sadness. “I thank thee, Noah. I merit not freedom.” She hugged Noah tightly.
He hugged her back. “You do, Berenice. You’ve been used enough.”
Venus spoke excitedly. “What of me? Do me next!”
Sven picked up the battery. “We shall free you soon, Venus. And we’ll share the secret with the world. Before long, all the sheeple will be free. But we really do need to get going. Vincenzio will be pleased, after all. We have made a real mess up here, but we did get everything we came for. Now we just need to make sure we don’t get arrested.”
“Finally. Let’s go,” said Jori.
Berenice smiled up at Noah, still hugging him. He wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled back. They followed the others into the airship.
“So, who knows how to fly this thing?” asked Venus.