Chapter 36 - The Kraken Gate
The night passed without incident, but the lack of sleep left me irritable. When I woke, Ellen James and Mahkran had already left for Lannerville town. I spent half a bell working through my exercises, grabbed something to eat and headed down into the Koulomb Gate’s portal room to commission the failsafe. Two of its elements were a nightmare. The first, naturally was the danger of the explosives themselves and the fact that they could not be set out and left between sorties. They had to be packed up carefully and put away to allow for the frequent and heavy maintenance that the Koulomb Gate underwent.
The second real horror was the setup of the microphones that were tuned to pick up the ‘song’ of the Malacian conch shells. Because the pitch was beyond the range of human hearing, one had to rely on specialist equipment to confirm that the failsafe was correctly calibrated. It was hard to place so much trust in mere machines.
I set up and tested the sensors, and when that was done, I tested a whole new batch of inhibitors to make sure the shells resonated correctly. We’d lost a quarter of our stock of them in the Winslow Hall incident. Inigo would repeat my tests later on to be certain. While I was occupied with that, Ankush and Na-Su ran exhaustive conductivity tests on all the wiring. When those tasks were done, Ankush and I carried the crates of explosives from their locker and set them up in the places we’d previously designated, and Na-Su kept meticulous records of what we placed in each location. Out final task at each spot was to tie warning labels in place; on the crates, opposite the crates and several hands away on any approach towards them.
It was early afternoon by the time we finished. Ankush went to take his shift on watch. Na-Su, Inigo and I made the most of a few moments of calm. Escaped from the claustrophobic environment of the underground facility, we sought out benches on the hunting lodge’s east-facing patio. Inigo chose a seat that faced the building. Several people were already there; engineers and scientists from Professor Maddison’s team by the look of them. We accepted tea and biscuits from two members of the serving staff who were doing the rounds.
I soaked up what warmth I could from Draxil. Aripole had all but disappeared behind her partner, and wouldn’t reappear in full until their everdance had gone on for another sixty days. Darkenseve was a mere twelve days away. I tried to remember if Mrs. Underhill had packed any thermals for me. My stomach lurched as I remembered that I would never see my housekeeper again.
I hadn’t managed to fully relax half a bell later when James found us. He, Ellen and Mahkran had returned from town with the first consignment of Na-Su’s special weapons. Inigo, Na-Su and I eagerly followed him around to the front of the lodge where Jeremiah had stopped the cart with its cargo of two large wooden crates. They were the long, knee-high variety that usually held carbines. We all crowded round to get a look.
‘We need a crowbar,’ said Mahkran. ‘Shall I go and find one?’
‘I have one here,’ said Jeremiah. ‘Comes in useful if the axel ever sheds a wheel.’ He reached under the driver’s seat and handed the iron bar to Na-Su.
‘Are we going to open them here?’ asked Ellen.
‘Why not? The light’s better out here than inside. We can bang the tops back on and haul them inside once we’ve taken a look.’ I nodded to Na-Su. Her mouth was compressed into a thin line. I guessed she was just nervous about the reception these new weapons would get. She handed the crowbar to Mahkran who prised the lids off.
Inside the first crate, carefully rolled into oilcloth were two-dozen crossbow stocks. Inigo picked one up and inspected it.
‘Look at the build-quality,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It’s made from a single piece of wood, no screws. And just look at the trigger mechanism!’ He turned the weapon over. ‘It’s ivory.’
‘Sea-bull tusk,’ said Na-Su, handing him one of the one-piece limbs from the crate.
I picked one up to take a look while Inigo slotted his onto the stock. It was a multi-layer thin sandwich structure of alternating cream and rosewood-coloured layers. It was light, and smooth to the touch, but felt immensely strong. I’d never seen anything like it.
‘Tusk and ironwood slices glued with resin,’ explained Na-Su.
‘No metal at all?’ asked Ellen. ‘Not even brass?’ The Omolit woman shook her head.
‘Foundry process could be contaminated with iron. I cannot risk.’
James had to help Inigo string the crossbow. The assembled weapon radiated power. Mahkran dug deeper into the crate and found the quarrels. They were in bundles of a dozen, bound together with a leather thong. Each quarrel was a work of art, consisting of a polished shaft of black ironwood, a stubby set of black goose-feather flights and was tipped with a razor-sharp shard of a translucent, white flint.
I looked at Na-Su. She was giving nothing away, her half-scowl in place, but James, Inigo and Mahkran all looked awestruck. Even Ellen, who wasn’t much interested in weapons, looked impressed.
‘These are amazing,’ she said. ‘Again, no brass.’
Na-Su looked disgusted. ‘Flint is sharper. I get idea for crossbow from traditional Gulreimian weapon.’
‘My father had something like this,’ said Mahkran. ‘Much more basic though. The crossbar was metal, I recall, but the design looks similar.’
The second box contained pikes in three parts that screwed together on wooden threads. They also had glassy, flint blades like the crossbow quarrels, but larger and much more wicked looking. The handle end included a leather wrist-strap.
‘Inspired by indigenous weapons,’ I commented.
‘These perek are like the ones my people still use to hunt whales, only shorter,’ said Na-Su.
I assembled one of the pikes and hefted it to get a feel. It was well-balanced and light enough to throw, but heavy enough to punch through a body.
‘We need to try these out,’ I said. At that moment, Rigsby happened past, on his way from the main house with two under-butlers. He was on his regular rounds to check that the hunting lodge was being run to his exacting standards. Another small group was following behind. They all changed course to see what we were up to. Rigsby sported a sour expression. His veneer of civility had slipped since we’d desecrated the hunting lodge by boarding it up, nailing doors and windows shut.
‘More destructive devilry?’ he inquired acidly.
‘I’m afraid so, Mr. Rigsby. We are going to need to set up a range to test these weapons on.’
‘Impossible,’ sniffed Rigsby. ‘I cannot think of anywhere that would be safe.’
‘Really?’ I cocked an eyebrow sceptically. ‘You’ve got nearly a hundred acres here. All we need is a patch a third of a league long and five-hundred hands across. We’ll need some fence posts and ribbon, preferably red, for the boundary and some hay bales for targets.’
‘As I said, Ms. Derringer,’ my name rolled off the butler’s tongue like something distasteful, ‘I cannot authorise the use of the estate’s land for such recklessness. Why, who would be liable for any injury or worse?’
‘Ridiculous, Rigsby!’ barked a familiar voice. It was Director Harman. He was with the second group following the butlers. Lieutenant Scott and Captain Banks were with him. They tipped their heads respectfully in our direction. ‘Setup wherever you see fit, Ms. Derringer, a safe distance from the buildings. There’s no place for such petty concerns in a time of war!’
‘Director Harman, I must protest.’ Rigsby began wringing his hands.
‘Protest all you like, Rigsby.’ the old man retorted. ‘Draxil’s Beard, but you can be a tiresome ass! Humanity would still be scratching around in the mud if we relied on people like you for progress, eh?’
Harman laughed at his own wit. The rest of us smiled politely as Rigsby’s face purpled.
‘Are these the weapons you’re taking through the gate?’
‘Yes, Director. Custom design by Na-Su Kamak, and newly delivered from Harland and Coates.’
‘Will this be sufficient?’
‘This is the first of two consignments. We were not able to arrange for everything to be delivered in time for the first excursion.’
‘We cannot postpone, Ms. Derringer. The fate of Emberland depends on success on this venture.’
‘There are other options, Director Harman. We’ll take dynamite with us.’
Harman gave me a steely look. ‘Excellent! I have complete confidence in you and your team.’ He glanced over the contents of the crates then turned on his heel. ‘Come, Lieutenant Scott. I want to see all the preparations you’ve made.’ Benjamin and Captain Banks led Director Harman towards the stables on the far side of the hunting lodge. I watched them for a moment, thinking that I too should be getting to see what the marines were doing to shore up the defences around this huge estate. Perhaps I would get time tomorrow.
With Jeremiah’s help, we carried our new toys inside the lodge. When we finished, Na-Su handed me a box, covered in red leather. Inside were our two telescopes.
‘Just like you wanted,’ confided the Omolit. ‘I rebuild. No metal!’
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