Leona hurried off with Krieg and Phoebe in tow, deep inside her chest the tactician felt a gnawing sensation of dread building up. Normally an envoy would only consist of diplomats representing the king in order to do business or declare war. While she never witnessed the gruesome reality of a real battlefield, the theater of her mind as she read the books gave her a rough idea just how large of a scale an all out war was.
The previous soldier that was sent to break the news was just stopping a carriage by going in front of the driver. It was an old man in his late sixties, his gray hair was a telltale sign of how old he was.
"Halt!" He raised his hand as he walked to the side of the carriage to talk to the rider. "These people are on official business, they are to go to the southern ammunition factory. Take them there."
"But sir I have an appointment with the minister of-"
"I will personally make sure he or she gets a new carriage driver, now off with them you go please."
"O-okay sir…" He calmly stepped from his seat and jogged around the carriage before opening the door. "Here, madam, sir and umm… madam?"
Leona politely nodded first before heading inside, Krieg and Phoebe did the same, though the high elf doing so while strapped to the front of the knight's chest was somewhat of an amusing sight. The driver closed the door and climbed up to his seat before gently tucking the reins in order for the horse to move.
Inside of the carriage Phoebe climbed off the harness on the opposite seat from Leona and glanced out of the small rectangular window as she mumbled.
"Strange how horses can withstand this cold, I always thought those animals dislike low temperatures like this."
"I was told they treat their feed with warm drinks provided by Athena's workshop." Leona explained. "Something to do with the kingdom financing the endeavor."
"Huh… that's interesting."
"It's admirable how they return most of the taxes they collect through these services that help the people." The tactician frowned a bit. "In retrospect, Arcadia…"
"Captain Eleonora wasn't fit to rule."
The knight's words made Leona turn to him with widened eyes in surprise.
"I'm sorry?"
"Eleonora was a capable captain, that I won't deny, but a captain of the knights is by no means capable of ruling a kingdom." He sighed quietly. "She only took the position because otherwise the corrupt nobles would take the place of the late king." He looked towards the Londrian castle that was slowly becoming distant as the carriage moved. "But then they escalated the already poor situation within the kingdom between humans and demons which almost led to my execution after Eleonora went missing."
"Then when I met you in the forest…"
He looked at her and nodded.
"I had escaped before they could imprison me, but with the many wounds I had suffered my fate was sealed until you and Adele saved me."
Leona scratched the side of her face.
"To think Arcadia was this corrupt…"
"Given how big the kingdom is I'm surprised it hasn't crumbled itself apart." Phoebe was still looking through the window. "That being said, my mother was still working there a few years back, 'cleansing' the more corrupt individuals until she had to follow the queen to this expedition to the east."
"I still can't understand why she would leave so much without a word." Krieg seemed uneasy, to his perspective that was no short of betrayal of the trust from the people under her. "I'm sure she had her reasons but still…"
"You can have the answers for all your questions when we get there." The high elf said as much. "For now, I think it's appropriate to make a plan for how we'll deal with an eventual encounter of Arcadian soldiers."
"It's not like we can attack just anybody that gets in our way. That would make us no less better than Alexander." Leona concluded. "However, I do believe it is best if we have a way to easily subdue an attacker."
"I wouldn't say easy, but I still have some paralyzing poison with me, just a gentle prick of a needle would be enough to make them stop moving for a while."
"I would prefer to avoid having to deal with poisons…" The sight of the bandits foaming from their mouths in the cave where Athena and her brother were being held was still fresh in her mind. "In any case… I think I can safely dispatch a knight or two with my wind magic without killing them. Well, assuming it is knights that we are dealing with."
Upon hearing that Phoebe turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning he could have sent someone else. Like mages for instance. He wouldn't be foolish enough to send knights clad in steel armor to this frigid hell." The tactician held her chin. "But then my spells wouldn't be as effective-"
"Young lady?" The carriage driver called out as the vehicle stopped. "We reached your destination."
He hopped off his seat and went ahead to open the door. Leona offered her thanks as she stepped out of the carriage.
"Thank you."
He nodded once as the knight picked up Phoebe from her waist, carrying her like a sack of potatoes to which she protested.
"Hey! At least put me in the harness!"
"We don't have time for this."
The driver chuckled before saying.
"Have a good day."
"You too."
Krieg replied as he followed Leona inside the building while holding a squirming high elf under his arm.
As they stepped in, they were met by four armed soldiers and the receptionist seated behind the counter as if nothing happened. When she noticed Leona entering the building, she quickly stood up and went to the hallway while motioning them to follow.
Without exchanging a word, she went after her with Krieg and Phoebe right behind her. The soldiers nodded to the tactician as they kept watch on the doorway.
"The head scientist is waiting." The receptionist stopped by the wooden double doors and left it slightly ajar. "Thank you for all your help young lady Crossford."
Leona smiled and nodded once before entering the workshop. Her eyes were assaulted by bright flashes of light and as she squinted her eyes while covering the blinding light with her hand, a male voice came from somewhere in the back of the workshop.
"It's Leona! Turn off the lights!"
Once they were turned off and the tactician's eyes adjusted to the interior's brightness, she noticed there were a few more soldiers inside, some of them were familiar faces like Hank and Jill.
"What a clownfest." Jill lowered her rifle and sighed. "Did we really have to go through it knowing it was okay all along?"
"We can't be too cautious." Lawrence stepped down from a stack of crates as he was responsible for the spotlight-like tool used to almost blind Leona. "If you heard of what Alexander is capable of you would do well to do the same."
After reaching the floor, he approached the tactician and slightly bowed and with an apologetic tone he said.
"It was necessary, I hope you understand."
"No explanation is needed." She replied. "Though I take this level of caution it can only mean…"
"Yes, it is finished." He nodded while hurriedly turning around. "No time to waste. Come, I'll show you."
Seeing Leona dash off after the scientist made Krieg and Phoebe exchange glances before the knight also jogged behind them. As they entered the back of the main warehouse, the first thing Leona noticed was the large contraption in the place of the wooden work tables and crates. It was the size of a sailboat large enough to fit six people with one large triple bladed helix in the middle of its deck with four others in each corner of the vessel.
"Is this…?"
The tactician was speechless. She knew it would be an ambitious project but to be done in a matter of days still impressed her.
"Yes, dubbed as Flying Crosship."
Leona's eyes slowly turned to him.
"You didn't name it that way because-"
"Oh yes I assure you it is as you think it is. Though the first thing that came to mind was the cross shaped helices and not the pun, mind you."
She sighed before approaching the still vessel, noticing there was a rope ladder she wasted no time climbing up. On board, the first thing that caught her attention was the elevated platform in the rear side of the vehicle.
The moment Lawrence climbed up she began to bombard him with questions.
"So, how would one go about piloting this ship?"
"Over there on the helm of the vessel, we thought to use a ship's schematics to save up on construction time and right under is the engine room."
He pointed to the elevated platform, where the tactician quickly made her way through the stairs.
"Right." She grabbed the well carved wooden steering wheel and noticed another type of lever on the left side of it. "What is this?"
"It's the velocity control, push forward to accelerate and pull back to decrease it. It also controls the ascend and descend by pushing in or out of the slot."
"I see…" She looked around. "Anything else I should be aware of?"
"Hmmm… maybe that there is a helix on the back side of the ship. Might be dangerous for people on ground level."
She turned around and peeked over the border and noticed there was indeed one large helix positioned vertically instead of horizontally.
"Okay… any on board weapons?"
He shook his head.
"Not built in the ship no. We do, however, have to load a few barrels of gunpowder onto the ship before you depart."
"Huh? Why gunpowder?"
"Did Athena not tell you? It was at lady Fye's request to bring about twenty barrels choked full of the stuff to Akrapocalis."
"Lady Fye? Why would she want that?"
"I don't know the details, but I'll try to oblige whatever that woman asks for since she is the one funding this project."
"Interesting…"
"Point is, General Vaan is buying time with the envoy and wants us to send you on your way to the dwarven citadel as soon as we can." He began climbing down the vessel, but before that he turned to her and handed her a slip of paper. "Before I forget, my wife told me to hand this to you. Apparently it's someone that used to work with her before she came to Londria with me, she told me he'll help you in case you need it in Astera."
"The coastal city isn't it?" She grabbed the paper and took a look at it. "Mura… kano? Murakano? Is this his name?"
"Yes, he came from Nara. Far easterners and their strange names." He climbed down the vessel and headed to the main room of the workshop. Leona could only hear his voice. "Time to load the cargo! Everyone get a move on!"
"Aye aye!"
While Lawrence's crew were working on loading the barrels of explosive ordinance onto the ship, the scientist headed to where the knight and consequently the high elf were. She was being held like a parrot on a stand but she didn't seem to mind it.
"Miss Phoebe, a minute of your time please." He brought her a pair of slender curved metals strapped to what seemed to be an oversized chalice covered in cloth with leather straps coming off from the sides. A rudimentary pair of prosthetic legs. "We almost didn't have time to design it. Athena and the rest of the crew wanted to make something to thank you for helping us put this age of blood behind Londrian history. I personally preferred to give your legs back but producing the serum has proved far more difficult than I anticipated-"
"Save your technical speech for people that can understand it." She interrupted him as she grabbed the prosthetic pieces. "But I will thank you all for making these."
Using Krieg's chest to support her back, she adjusted one leg at a time before strapping it to her thigh.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
While Krieg's concern was appreciated it was unnecessary in Phoebe's eyes.
"Better than having to be carried like a sack of potatoes." She hopped off his forearm and as soon as the metallic feet touched the ground she almost fell over from the unexpected spring it had working as a shock absorber. Despite being fully made of metal, the fact that it was made from a flexible alloy made it possible for her to walk. "Ooh this feels nice."
"We'll keep working on a serum. I promise we'll give your legs back."
Phoebe chuckled.
"Thank you but it won't be necessary. I know a certain someone that will be able to fix this."
His eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"You… do? Then-"
Before he could inquire further, one of the workers shouted to him.
"Lawrence, we are done loading in the barrels!"
"Everyone climb off! The Flying Crosship will take its first voyage to the skies! Your hard work and sacrifices of yesterday is the fruit laid in front of your eyes today!"
Cheers and cries of joy filled the interior of the workshop. Unlike that first day Leona was introduced to the people Athena was working with, the previously empty workplace was bustling with many people.
There was a sense of accomplishment when the tactician saw that many people were happy with the fruits of their labor. For them, it was the end of another road, another story, but she knew deep inside her heart that was only the beginning.
"Very well…" Lawrence began to smile. "Prepare to take up to the skies!"
With Krieg and Phoebe on board, Leona took control of the helm of the flying ship and prepared herself to take off. However upon looking towards the ceiling she noticed a strange contraption of pulleys installed against the wooden roof.
Lawrence and a few more workers positioned themselves on each corner of the workshop and on the scientist's command they pulled the ropes in sync.
"Now! Open the gates towards the heavens so our creation may open its wings and take to the skies!"
Once they did, the wooden ceiling split open with the noise of countless mechanisms pulling the roof apart.
"Get ready to take off!"
Leona shouted as she pulled the lever up from its slot. Phoebe and Krieg both held on the wooden railing as the flying contraption began to lift off the ground.
"It's flying! It's really flying!"
"Hooray!"
"Take up to the heavens my friends!" Lawrence shouted from the top of his lungs while holding on to the rope. "Brave the blue expanse for it is yours to fly!"
The ship took flight, upon exiting the warehouse the sun briefly made Leona squint her eyes as the outside welcomed her to the vast blue sky bereft of clouds. In a matter of seconds they were already a few dozen meters above the buildings, the structure rivaling their height was the Londrian castle that was gradually also becoming smaller each second that passed.
"Wow… we are really flying…" Phoebe was peering over the edge of the vessel. "I bet nothing could attack us at this height. Us on the other hand…" She glanced at the barrels choked full of gunpowder at the bow of the ship. "Why would they want us to carry gunpowder back to Akrapocalis anyway?"
"What?!" Leona shouted from the helm. "Did you say something?!"
"Nothing!"
Phoebe shouted back, the sound of the engine muffled almost all sound they could hear. Despite the extremely loud noise the tactician remained focused, the ship was overlooking the frozen ocean so she needed to turn it around the opposite direction. She gently began to steer the wheel to the left and the vessel followed suit, turning ever so slightly to the south, she pushed the lever forward and the ship began to move through the sky.
"To Akrapocalis and one step closer to my goal."