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The collapsed part of the cave, as if gnawing, went deep into the canyon. There, in the courtyard, Snorri was sitting. It was hot, and the big guy took shelter in the shade of an old stone golem's enormous leg, covered with centuries-old cracks and moss. Farther along was the parts warehouse, where two mechanics with dummies were leisurely selecting parts for the ships. Leaning his back against a stone finger, Snorri looked up at the sky, where the fourth moon was rapidly crawling, covering the small star for a moment, and listened to the company of small mechanical dwarves trying with persistence and diligence to find again in this mess the mounts for the stone giants.
He had once seen a stage performance about the battle of the golem giants with Björnveig, "Semimiron's Rising." In the play, the traitor Semimiron and his army, which he created in secret in the quarries, broke down the wall and, sowing death and destruction, moved toward the Heart to kill it. He was confronted by giant machines and an army of men, but they were powerless against the onslaught. And only the great Björnveig, who received a rune from the desperate humans, one of the large shards of the Heart, destroyed the giants with its unbreakable power.
And now he, Snorri, was sitting with a resurgent army of golems, ready to move again on the City and ruin it. But that is not their main goal. Their goal is to free the Heart.
"So maybe it was different for Semimiron, too?" he pondered. "Not the way they show it on the stage?"
How could Snorri know what it was really like? And how it really is now. The stars burned brighter and brighter, and the double shadow of his finger shifted, exposing the big guy's knee, which he hastened to remove, and now sat uncomfortably. Serenity had left him. His whole body ached and fidgeted on the hard stones.
He stood up, squinting his eyes and trying to see who was walking toward him through the stacked mountains of scrap metal. When he regained his sight, the unexpected guest was already standing beside the man, arms at his sides. It was the doll, taken from the City. Snorri frowned, preparing to say a few choice words to it, but it beat him to it.
"Let's go, pile of meat, they're waiting for us," said the doll in a rather cocky and defiant way, which made the big guy feel a little embarrassed, but when he opened his mouth to reply, the doll was already at the other end of the yard and shouted at him:
"Hurry up, the Baron is waiting."
Snorri clenched his fists, then unclenched, exhaled, and followed the animated one. The latter was already maneuvering confidently between the natural columns in the narrow passages formed by the fractures in the rock. Heavy and stodgy with heat, the big guy could hardly keep up with the doll, cursing at the same time the day he had let this sick mind's creature without a mouth and brains be stuck in his life a little longer than any other dummy.
As he emerged from the rift into the canyon, he was again nearly blinded by the bright light of the crystals beating out of the rocks all along the eastern slope. His eyes flickered and rippled. Snorri turned the passing mechanic around and removed his sunglasses.
"I'll bring it back later," he muttered, and headed down toward the ship.
At the ship, dummies of all stripes were removing flags and electric wires of illumination. There, among the tents, he found a barrel of water, dipped his face into it, and took two big gulps. As he emerged from the barrel, he shook his head heavily, splashing the musicians and dancers from head to toe as they made their brunch, not yet changed their clothes after days of carnival. Without saying a word in response to their meaningful glances and exclamations, he headed for the stairs that led to the ship.
Goody, Raud, and Lila were waiting for him on deck. The other crews were gathered next to them. Leo was glittering with a smile, as if he didn't pay any attention to Snorri, and a griffin with wings that sparkled gold in the bright sun was seated next to him. Joe the Platform laughed out loud as he hovered near the board, much to the amusement of the wooden monkeys, who bounced and tumbled around on the antique gun-shaped cast-iron cannon, which gave off a heat haze. Split up into companies, people, first-borns, and animated ones were discussing the carnival. Snorri walked over to his group and stood silently with his arms folded across his chest.
"Here's the benevolence itself," Raud gurgled with a sort of sneer in his eyes.
"He's too..."
"Shut up, woody," Snorri interrupted the doll.
Goody was somewhat taken aback and sighed.
"That's his way of showing affection," Raud shook his head.
Snorri glanced first at the octopus, then at the animated one.
"What's that bump on your head?" he said.
But he didn't wait for an answer and stepped through the doors, which opened as if on cue, inviting everyone into the wardroom. The octopus frightenedly grabbed his head, felt the black spot on the top of his head, which had not gone anywhere, even managed to turn into a bump, and thoughtfully floated after the man.
Goody hurried after the crowd, but the Tiger, standing in the doorway, shook his head and pushed the animated one back out the door with his furry paw. Raud, who floated by, beckoned him to wait. As Goody saw before everyone had squeezed in and the doors closed in front of him, there was a large map table in the center of the room, and behind it stood the figure of the Baron, fixing his gloves on his hands.
Goody was alone under the blazing sun. He paced the deck, but found nothing better to do than lean over the keyhole, through which he had a perfect view of what was going on in the cabin. The Baron, today wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, contrasted with the moon-shaped stained-glass windows that encircled the room. The big guy stood on the right side of the table and leaned against the wall so that the rays of light from the windows wouldn't fall on him, and the animated one stopped seeing him. Raud floated there, and after some confusion, Lila came over. Everyone was finally seated in the cabin, and, no longer talking, they stood waiting, shifting from foot to foot once in a while and squeaking their chairs.
The Baron paused, straightened up, stepped toward Leo, and began, grinning:
"I want to congratulate you on winning this season, my dear furry friend. Although I do not approve of this barbaric tradition, defeating this 'p....' is a challenging matter."
His phrase was drowned in laughter, but the Baron nodded toward Snorri, and Goody chuckled as well, guessing what he had called the big guy.
"However, that's the end of the good news," the Baron retorted and returned to the center of the table.
Now Goody could hear him very badly, and no matter which side he leaned against, it didn't get any better, so he preferred to watch.
"I'd like to start by talking about the unexpected failure of our mission to the University," the Baron folded his arms sullenly across his chest and swung his heel on the wooden floor. "This was our best chance. Prepared in every sense. We took a risk and I think we put our agents in the City in line of fire. I don't want to blame anyone. I can only point out that the police and the Cult also have no knowledge of the location of the rune. So we are informed by reliable sources. Even so, this failure puts us in an extremely ambiguous position. You must understand that the parade of all moons has happened. The time indicated by the great poets of antiquity has arrived. We are too late, ladies and gentlemen. We are already too late."
Raud glanced at the big guy, then at Lila, sighed, and began to float toward the center of the cabin. But Snorri stepped forward, blocking his path, causing the octopus to crash into his leg and fall to the floor.
"We worked according to plan," the big guy began hoarsely, "Using the duplicate keys. Lila snuck into the tower without drawing attention. But then something went wrong. I think," he sighed, glancing at the monkey, "There was extra security we didn't know about. Lila signaled, and I had to blow the wall. When we proceeded to the emergency evacuation, we had the rune. There we picked up the..." Snorri looked around, and, not finding the animated one with his eyes, looked questioningly at Raud.
"He's outside the door," the octopus gurgled, "May I let him in?"
The Baron nodded, and the tiger opened one flap. Goody couldn't hear who was talking about and fell backward, but quickly rose to his feet, and the tiger, raising an eyebrow and smiling crookedly, beckoned him inside. As he entered, the animated one stepped on the tiger's foot, causing him to hiss something unkind and slam the door. Goody walked slowly toward Snorri, and stopped at his foot, as usual covered from head to toe in shame.
"I'm Goody," he introduced himself with a nod, "And I don't remember anything."
Giggles were heard from behind him. The Baron smiled, but immediately returned his face to a serious expression.
"I recognized you, copycat," he said with a chuckle that made the animated one feel quite uncomfortable. It seemed as if embarrassment and shame were about to creep in between the rivets.
"He saved our worthless lives," Raud muttered, "I believe him."
"We were diving into the city blocks when we ran into him. I threw him away, but the monkey took him with her. We split up. We managed to escape, and they were caught and held in the underwater prison," Snorri continued his story. "The next day we searched everywhere we could and stumbled across him in the alleys near the Colosseum; we used a rocket, but the contact from the 'organization' didn't help us. The doll took me to Lila," the big guy nodded at Goody, "His conscience was awakened. He was, uh, more foolish back then, though."
"I've done some tweaking on him," Father's voice came from a chair in the far corner, "Now he's quick-witted and can serve the cause well."
"Lila doesn't remember what became of the rune," Raud interjected.
Snorri frowned and looked at the monkey.
"After what she's been through, it's understandable. I haven't seen a working heart furnace in a long time," he said.
"Yes," said the Baron, raising his eyebrows and running his knuckle over his mustache.
"I'm afraid to assume that the rune is once again in the hands of the enemy," the big guy summed up.
"No," the Baron shook his head, "at least that's what the source says.
"Maybe we're being deceived," Snorri shrugged.
"Possibly," Father murmured from his chair.
The Baron was quiet, took the figure of a black knight on a horse and put it on the map.
"The City has doubled its production of black smoke and mechanized armies," he said, and after clearing his throat, he continued. "It's as if they sense we're preparing for an attack. Though my agents tell me it has more to do with the recent tragedy in the Old Quarter, and they're just afraid of civil unrest."
The audience began to look at each other and whisper, but the Baron's voice interrupted the murmurings.
"Someone used a long-forgotten substance that reacted with the building material and triggered an explosion on the air barges," the Baron said slowly. "They collapsed on the quarter, effectively destroying it. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of deaths, the rubble unable to be dealt with due to the Magistrate's low skill and lack of personnel, a disaster comparable to a war."
The Baron looked around at the crowd.
"For one thing, it distracted them from our failure. But there's something else," he sighed deeply. "Someone sent a message to the newspapers that 'the Free City,' our partner organization, had done it."
Everyone murmured again.
"Yes, you heard right," the Baron sat down on the table and took off his hat, tossing it on the map and knocking over the black knight figure. "Someone is acting inside the City besides us and hiding behind our name. Or knows about us and is deliberately putting us in harm's way."
He cleared his throat and looked at the audience.
"Again, this puts us in a most unpleasant and ambiguous position," he paused, rubbing the fingers of his right hand. "There's a chance that they want to discredit the 'organization,' which has recently enjoyed unprecedented public support. But this only encourages us to act more decisively."
The Baron pounded his fist on the table in warm blood, and then looked at Snorri.
"Since the mission to retrieve the rune has failed, that leaves us with one and only last chance," he said, turning to Leo and the griffin. "The rune in the Cult library."
"But that's... suicide," said the lion timidly.
"That's right," the Baron nodded back. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
Leo hesitated.
"There aren't many options here. Björnveig, the Usurper, the Library, the Wonder Institute," the man listed, ticking them off on his fingers. "Of the four, the Library looks the most realistic. Especially since the compassionate intellectuals got us the exact plan and the duty roster."
"As it turns out, these guys are only good for painting the walls with pub jokes," said a bald man with a bow behind his back, and was supported by amicable laughter, "And the roster changes every day."
"We have in our hands the pattern by which jobs and hours of duty are allocated," continued the Baron, not noticing the archer's words and not taking his eyes off Leo, who was looking at the floor aloof.
"You know I'm not forcing any of you," he said as he stood up and looked around again. "But times are such that we can't do without sacrifice. Yes, it may be suicide, but we have no right not to take the risk. You know, if... if we don't have the rune, we've already lost."
When he finished, he took off his gloves, threw them on the table, and folded his arms across his chest. Leo looked up at the Baron.
"All right," said the lion, "I'll go."
"So will I," the griffin cawed.
"And me," said the short girl dressed in the cloth tree leaves.
"Thank you! I'm very grateful for your understanding and courage," said the Baron and bowed, then looked at the lion's team and continued, "I will bring you up to speed in the very near future. But, believe me, we will not leave you without support in this difficult matter."
Leo nodded, followed by the others. The Baron walked around the table and stood on the other side of it.
"That's not all we have to do. Because of the aforementioned events, we have no choice but to sabotage black smoke production, steel infrastructure, and supply lines within the City. It's the only thing that will keep the enemy from reinforcing the army against our attack," he said and turned to Snorri. "You will go to the black smoke factory. And please don't let me down this time."
"Yes," Snorri wheezed and bowed.
"I don't want to," Lila said suddenly.
The Baron looked at her with a frown, but answered softly:
"I understand," he nodded. "Then you're going to need a replacement..."
"Take it away," Raud gurgled, after a short pause, pushing Goody forward.
"If I can be human after this, I agree," Goody ringed quietly, but the whole room heard and laughed.
The Baron turned to him and asked with a smile:
"I see you're not being penny wise, asking for the impossible right away. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"I saved the lives of all three," the animated one replied cheerfully, looking at the man.
"Why didn't anybody notice when I said that?" Raud gurgled, rolling his eyes.
"Great recommendation for such a little hero," grinned the Baron. "So be it."
Snorri muttered something sharp and hissed under his breath.
"I hope your captain doesn't mind?" the Baron asked, noticing his reaction.
Snorri opened his mouth, but didn't have time to say anything.
"Great," concluded the Baron, as if he hadn't noticed anything, and clapped his hands, "Let's move on to other tasks. Fleet. The enemy's fleet is three times ours, and we must close the gap. From scooters to frigates to the heavy cruiser 'Volterg.' The remaining three crews will go to the shipyards and raid all available repair docks. Sixty percent of the fleet is there now. Agents have provided us with information on shift hours, number of guards, and vulnerabilities. The captains' briefing is scheduled for tomorrow. Those engaged in fan installation, please check that the engineering teams are ready for lift-off. You are dismissed for the day."
He clapped his hands again, and the doors behind the crowd swung open.
"We'll be on the middle tier, won't we?" Goody asked Raud, who rushed to the exit after the others, but got only a snide look from the octopus.
"Snorri, stay," said the Baron to the big guy.
Snorri took off his glasses, put them on his forehead, and walked closer to the table.
"I don't like the way you act lately, buddy," he said.
"The pile of meat is not necessarily to be liked," Snorri muttered.
"Oh, moons! Don't tell me you resent that stupid nickname," said the Baron, rolling his eyes, "I thought you were... over it."
"Now everyone's repeating it after you," the big guy grumbled resentfully.
"I'm sorry if it offends you, I didn't mean to. But there's nothing to be done. Tell me, I keep wondering, how did you manage to lose to the lion?"
"He was lucky," Snorri snapped.
"Hey, easy there."
The Baron tapped his finger on the table.
"Sorry. I just remembered something. Got distracted."
"Careful, or I'll think you're losing your grip."
"No," the big guy retorted, and resentment flashed in his eyes.
"That's the way I like it better. Now go. And don't let me down. If Leo fails, you know..."
"I know," Snorri nodded, and walked across the creaky floor into the scorching midday heat with heavy footsteps. The Baron followed him with a glance and turned to Father, who had fallen asleep in the chair. With a shake of his head, the man left the cabin himself.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
