Having been stationed on the back of the crawler I was tucked snugly between the engine and Coalatik stores. The heat and weight of my exhaustion lead me into a deep sleep as I was rocked by the hum of pumps and gears alike.
It was not until morning that I awoke to the blazing glare of the morning sun. No longer did I find myself in the desert, rather we were now in a lush savanna. The sands were dotted with spindly little trees and patches of grass beneath the little shade they created. It was a wonder anything could live in this heat but the aquifers must give some water to plants whose roots are deep enough.
The mountains where still to our left meaning we where headed south, the pace was slow but steady as the treads ripped through the sand. At the rate we were going I thought we would have reached the town by now but apparently we were still a ways from our destination.
"Yea, Dunn is still an hour south from here," said Franke. "But don't worry, you can have your breakfast as you work and we saved some water for you as well."
Having something other than turnips was a joy as I had grown too used to their starchy and bitter taste. So with a belly of fried eggs and fresh water I set to work. Maintaining the engine took little time as most of its functions where in order besides a few loose pipes letting out steam. The main task for me was refilling the coalatik as it took great precision to work the instruments of its insertion and retrieval. With some guidance from Jarvis I was able to finish my duties all in time for our arrival in Dunn.
As we grew closer and closer the space between the trees grew thinner and the grass went from yellow to green. Both of our steam-crawlers seemed to ride smoothly across the grassy patches only making slight adjustments as to avoid hitting the trees which grew taller and taller. It was not long before we came to a patch of cement and inlaid stones which seemed to stretch south for miles, here we got behind the other steam-crawler and moved with even greater speed before buildings first came into view.
First were small sandstone huts with skinny wood thatch roofs shading their interiors. Then came larger, more complex structures. These had no wood, rather they were two story towers made of sandstone bricks having sharp cone roofs which cast shadows like arrows on the grass and sand pointing east toward the mountains. I never had seen structures like these for my home was made of brass, stone, and clay. Yet there was an odd familiarity in their architecture for both the windows and doors were carved in the same shape as my own.
Finally we arrived to a fork in the road where we turned right, now approaching a 6 foot high wall bending around the towers of the town of Dunn. Here on our face of the wall stood a gate house whose guards nodded at the first steam-crawler in our caravan before opening the wooden doors for us both. We parked almost immediately in a docking-station where our steam-crawlers would be refilled with water and supplies. Dunn looked to be small town but still its buildings where tall and thin like the savanna trees that surrounded it. I had been to a town similar to this not long ago, for I would often travel a small ways west to Belfur as to buy supplies and have my tools repaired every month or so.
Officer Derek met with a troop commander and a city official whilst I and the others went to and explored the town. It was quite difficult to traverse with many pathways spiraling off in unpredictable directions, despite this it did not take us long to find a brew-shop in town.
It was a small sit-in shop on the second story of one of the larger wooden buildings with many machines and belts for making all sorts of ale. With the little coalatik I had plus the pay the others had earned, we were able to all try every sort of drink the merchant had on tap. It was well into the night when our pockets ran dry and we all stumbled our way back the steam-crawlers and bronze-men to find Derek waiting for us, with tents set up for our rest.
I slept on the crawler, for the metal sheet around my bed made me feel sturdy and safe as if I were back home on the farmstead. Thinking more about the events of the last day I reflected that I may be headed into quite some danger. For I know I have little experience if any in the likes of war and policing, but if the King demands it I shall abide.
I was awoken by Jarvis early the next morning with the moon still watching from above. It was apparent that the group had been waiting for me as I was led by him to a small wooden dugout nearby. I walked up to the others who where huddled around a map marked with Dunn and its surrounding roads and lands.
"Here to the east," said Amelia pointing at the map. "the locals said they saw some bronze-men walking along the ridge here and here."
"That must be where the Order of Gilton is hiding out," said Officer Derek. "If we head out right now we should be able to reach them by sunrise."
Following the others even in my stupor we made it back to our camp just outside the dugout. I checked the gauges and systems of the crawler whilst the others milled about their duties and planning.
Within the next five minutes we were off, back through the gate and riding far east on a road much like the one we had arrived on. There was a difference though, that being in the presence of numerous caravans heading both west and east beside us. These were large caravans made up of six to eight men each riding mules, dragging carts along the road making way as they heard our approach. Every now and then we would come upon anorther pair of steam-crawlers with crews similar to our own who we would have to dodge, always taking left as they took theirs.
The moon had disappeared almost entirely as the towering ridges of the distant hills become known to us. They where made of dark red clay stacked high on the lower stone ridge of the mountain range from the north. It was not difficult climbing the ridge as our road cut right trough it. The path now was dark even with the sun peaking up from the west as the ridge blocked what little light came over us. It was hard for me to see ahead at all but Cambry and Amelia must have traveled these roads before as they made quick work of the soft turns and sharp inclines of the road before us.
By the time we reached the top the sun was fully visible above the horizon, now washing us in an unhindered light and warmth not felt down in the narrows we had left. We slowed to a stop at the next fork in the road where we pulled off to the side. Officer Derek dismounted his crawler walking up to my own at a frantic pace.
"I'm sorry Deckard but you shouldn't expect too much training, I saw the glints of some bronze-men from that ridge higher up to the north and I highly doubt they're friendly."
"What do you mean training," I said. "I've already been repairing the hydraulics, steam-gauges and systems just fine, I am a mechanic after-all."
Derek looked to me with a rather guilty expression before pulling Franke over to talk to me.
"We need you to man one of the bronze-men, Amelia and Cambery are the crawler operators and have to stay here in case we need to retreat back down the ridge. Don't worry though, its really intuitive these days and I'm sure these Giltons won't be too much for Jarvis, Darek, and I to handle alone."
The two led me to the second bronze-man on my crawler. Cambry began spinning a flux on the dashboard and with a hiss of hot air, the grinding of the latch, and a few sparks the back of the bronze-man crept open before me.