Clive's eyes were fixed upon the horizon where they had sighted several ships hoisting the black colors of the Insaldurian Empire and heading towards the coast for an invasion. Several galleons of the Iron kingdom stood guard near the bay but they were greatly outnumbered and outgunned. In a few short moments, what was just a few ships off the cost quickly turned into a massive Armada, and ships were the least of their troubles.
" Are those...are those Airships ? " Biast sputtered
Indeed, they were a few massive airships soaring high above the sky slowly heading towards the city, growing larger with each passing moment. Their massive size dwarfed even the largest of ships Valisthea had to offer. It was clearly evident that they could travel in higher speeds but had slowed down for the navy beneath them to catch up. It was a perfect formation of a fleet, one which striked fear into the enemy's heart all the while giving them the advantage.
Tiamat was the first one to quickly unfaze. He turned around, hurriedly looking for an alternate way to reach the city beneath them as quickly as possible. Climbing down the steep hill they were stationed on would take too long, and going around it was out of the question. Time was of the essence. They needed a much faster way and it was Tiamat spotted it.
Several yards away, a series of wooden boxes hung suspended from thick cables that stretched down the mountainside, disappearing into the city below. They resembled nothing Tiamat had ever seen before. Initially none of them could make out what it was as none of them had seen a Gondola anywhere in mainland Valisthea, for the technology hadn't progressed that far yet. But the Iron Kingdom, it seemed, was anything but primitive.
In the Crystalline Orthodoxy, the religion the people of the Iron Kingdom followed, the Mothercrystasls were held sacred as the use of Mothercrystals for mundane tasks were strictly prohibited. This coupled with their extreme Isolation had to the development their own unique language. The rest of Valisthea, steeped in traditional magic, viewed them as barbaric and uncivilized.
This notion however would prove to be ironic. Unreliant on magic, the Iron Kingdom had taken a different path, their technology advancing far beyond anything their adversaries could imagine. Their isolation from the mainland, far from hindering them, had served as a cloak, masking their rapid progress.
Amina was the first to figure it out and she spoke, " Those hanging baskets! They ferry people up and down the mountain! We can use them to reach the city quickly !"
Without a word they all took of running in direction. Clive was running as fast he could, careful not to to let the bushes and stray branches hit his face. The enemy fleet was closing in fast and they had to to get to Shiva's dominant as fast as they could.
A few minutes later, they crouched behind a clump of bushes, observing the scene before them. People bustled around a platform, hurriedly entering and exiting the hanging boxes. At the edge of the clearing there were several Kiosks distributing water and food in little packages made of leaf. However, the flow of people seemed one-sided – most were leaving the city rather than entering.
" They are evacuating the people using those hanging baskets " Biast muttered,
Aevis sensing his companions did not know the name name of the contraption let out a small laugh under his breath and spoke, " Those box-shaped contraptions are called 'Sky Chariots,' or rather 'Vary'in' in their language. They're used to ferry people to and from the city."
"We need to get on one," Aevis stated, pointing towards a platform where several of the sky chariots were docked. Several men were rotating a large wheel shaped lever which seemed to move the individual chariots.
"We will hide ourselves among the people. but we need to make some changes " Tiamat spoke, while tearing the white fabrics attached to his armor. " Tear out the white fabrics. We'll be more inconspicuous that way.
As the rest of his companions were busy redying themselves Clive turned to Amina. Her face looked a little saddnened.
" Is everything alright ? " he asked gently
She flinched, her eyes welling up. "It's just... I deeply regret killing that woman." Tears streamed down her face as she choked back sobs.
Clive turned around to look his other companions who were still busy planning and making preparations.
"My own mother died the same way " She continued " I feel every ounce of pain that child i just orphaned would feel "
Clive placed a hand on her should reassuringly, " Amina-"
" I brought ruin upon two lives when i killed that woman Clive. Everything in my life turned out this way because my mum was killed " She continued sobbing. Hear tears soaking the edge of Cloak.
" we all have regrets. We've done things we're not proud of, things we did to survive. We're not perfect beings. We make mistakes, terrible mistakes. at that and the only thing we can do is learn and be a better person after that "
Their conversarion was cut short when Tiamat let out a soft shout, gesturing them to be ready. Clive turned towards the platform ahead and noticed a large group of people heading towards ready. As they made ready Clive turned back to Amina.
He exchanged a quick glance with Amina, who offered a faint, grateful smile before mouthing, "Thank you, Clive."
The crowd jostled closer, and the companions joined the back of the line. Their armor marked them as outsiders, but hopefully, they could pass as mercenaries. They were careful cover their branded marks on their faces with their hands as that branded were viewed as heretics and were promptly executed in the Iron kingdom.
All five of them stood among the crowd ready to the embark on the downward journey. A few guards sighted them suspiciously but as expected, in the wake of the invasion, they assumed to be mercanaries hired from from the mainland.
There wern't that many people heading down to the city and so it wasn't very crowded. Most of people going down were either merchants or farmers carrying their goods and prodouce respectively.
After a short wait they emabrked on of the sky chairiots. It wasn't very big, 15 feet long and a few feet wide it could carry 20 people at a time. The chariot jerked as it began downwards slowly, with the wood creaking dangerously overhead. With the volume of sounds the sky chariot was giving Clive wondered if it would break. He peered down from the edge of the chariot. The drop stretched dizzyingly beneath them, a dense forest carpet waiting to cushion – or obliterate – them in case of a fall.
The sky chariot contained a few seats which were already taken by a few old woman and in the walls were smeared with propaganda written in the local language.
Clive held on to the edges as even the slightest wind shaked the chariot a lot making him loose balance.
" I would rather climb than ride on this thing again " He thought to himself
Just as they were beginning to settle in and get comfortable They could hear loud explosions now. The fighitng was getting close. All of a sudden Clive felt the entire chariot vibrate along with its inhabitants. Something massive was above them He looked up and saw something massive descend upon the city from overhead.
It wasn't an airship, No. This was something else. It was so massive that just its presence blocked out the sun. The ground trembled form just the humming of its massive engines keeping it afloat, and as it desenced more the vibrations grew stronger.