7th of Season of Air, Year 16 AL
Newt couldn’t help himself. When he heard there were forces who had turned their backs on imperials, he thought it would be wise to introduce them into their new community. They had resources and people Soaring Freedom desperately needed, and Newt’s faction had freedom and advancement opportunities to offer in return.
From his point of view, trying to arrange a meeting was natural. From Ruby’s point of view, it was suicidal.
“You still have time to change your mind. The information broker said they would need a moon or two to arrange the meeting.” When Newt remained silent, she stated the obvious: “It could be a trap.”
“I know, Ruby, I’m not stupid. But there are so many people we were forced to abandon, are abandoning even as we speak, those who we can’t help for various reasons. I feel obliged to try to help those with the means to escape if all they lack is knowing where they can escape to. There’s at least twenty thousand people we can save, and with that being the case, I feel I have to give it a shot. Besides, Dandelion said I could probably trust the Palestalkers.”
Ruby bit her lip. “Is that why you arranged the meetings with them one at a time?”
“Well, that, and the Grandfangs are in the spring kingdoms, while the Palewalkers are in the autumn kingdoms. If they were to meet halfway, the meeting would take place in the imperial palace’s garden or something.”
Newt chuckled, thinking he was funny, while Ruby remained unimpressed.
“I still think you’re taking a needless risk. And even I know the exalts expect you to join their ranks in a thousand years, perhaps even to lead them. How about I go in your stead?”
Newt shook his head. While he personally trusted Ruby completely, more than a little biased because of the relationship she shared with his big brother, the exalts had given him a mission, and he would make sure he fulfilled it.
“We can go together.”
With time to kill, Newt and Ruby explored the empire. Deeper in, the situation was no different from what it had been before their exodus. But if things continued the way they were going, the wealds would reclaim the border regions, devouring people and settlements alike.
How that would impact the regions closer to the empire’s heart, Newt didn’t know. He guessed that the loss of territory would result in immediate food shortages. Perhaps the core regions would see saurian outbreaks in a few centuries, but from a non-awakened perspective, that was such a distant prospect nobody even considered the implications.
With enough time to spare, Newt and Ruby visited the other contacts provided by the exalts, keeping away from imperial cities, and by the time they arrived at the meeting with the Palestalkers, they had already hoarded a fifth of the resources they needed to gather for Soaring Freedom. It was far from all they needed, but enough to last them a decade or so.
Newt and Ruby entered Brighthollow, an imperial city close to the border with Autumsweald, and went inside without a fuss, heading straight for the rumor house. Inside, Ruby engaged in the lengthy password exchange before the manager brought them to a secure room behind the illusory wall.
“It’s amazing how everyone just copies the same features across the empires,” Newt said as they waited. “I’ve visited a couple of scribes’ guilds over the years, and all of them had identical layouts.”
Ruby shrugged. “Why bother coming up with something new when you have an optimal building already?”
That was the end of that conversation. When she wasn’t chatty, Ruby could kill a chat with a handful of words and a nasty frown. And she was scowling at the needless risk they were taking.
The duke arrived not five minutes later. He appeared to be in his late twenties, slim and tall, with white skin, white hair, and red eyes. His thin lips stretched into a smile when he saw Newt.
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“You’re already at the eighth realm? Aren’t they rushing you too much?”
The ninth realm duke showed not a hint of concern or fear, and he even sounded amused.
“Thank you for your concern, Lord Palestalker. My foundations are quite solid. We have heard about your house’s unfortunate situation, and we would like to offer help.”
The man raised an eyebrow just a bit, enough to show his feelings before speaking.
“Coming from the people who threw my family into this mess makes me doubt your sincerity.” He chuckled, his expression softening. “But let’s hear what you have to offer.”
Despite how it started, and much to Newt’s joy and Ruby’s surprise, the negotiations went smoothly. Very quickly, they reached an agreement that the Palestalkers would enter the weald, then move south towards Summersweald on foot, away from prying eyes.
Unfortunately, they had abandoned their airships. The giant vessels were too big to store inside spatial pouches, and having them moored somewhere nearby would have given away the Palestalkers’ location in a matter of weeks, if not days.
A moon and tens of thousands of miles later, Newt and Ruby had a fairly similar conversation with the other ducal house, the Grandfangs in a nearly identical situation to the Palestalkers.
“Fine, I was wrong, and you were right.” Ruby said as Newt stared at her smugly after the meeting. “We have to get back to Thunderbluff and complete the trade for the resources we need, but I have to say, this mission was an unexpected success.”
Newt frowned. Why does everyone try to jinx everything I do?
It had the benefit of reminding him of his dear friend as well as all the downsides of Obi’s thoughtless comments. Still, Newt didn’t say anything. He hoped that not acknowledging the jinx might help avoid it.
“Huh?” Ruby said thoughtfully. “That sounded like I was trying to jinx us.”
You just had to say that too, didn’t you? You’re like the second coming of Obi, even if you’re older than him.
Newt cleared his throat. “It’s just a silly superstition. Let’s leave.”
Does that make it better or worse? He wondered, but there was no way to tell.
Given those comments, Newt expected they would run into an imperial exalt on their way to Thunderbluff, or perhaps a company of heresy hunters, or a cult leader of one of the four cults and his retinue. But the journey proved calm and uneventful.
Newt couldn’t believe it when they entered Thunderbluff again without suffering a single calamity. He was still on full alert as they stepped into the rumor house. He expected an ambush, but even there, they completed their trade without a hitch.
“Are you having an uncomfortable feeling?” he asked Magmin. “Like things are going too smoothly to be true?”
Magmin entered Newt’s body and remained silent for a handful of heartbeats before he spoke. “I don’t sense anything amiss. I take it that you have completed everything your overlords had tasked you to do, and now you’re wondering what’s the next thing you’re supposed to do?”
“No, not really. We will go into the weald, alert the exalts of the new group of exiles and come back to pick them up with our airships. I have it all figured out, and there’s not a single cloud in the sky. I don’t like it. Things don’t run that smoothly. Plans don’t survive contact with reality, and all that.”
Newt could feel his shoulders tingle as Magmin made a ghostly shrug. “Then make a mess. Burn the city. If things are too orderly for your taste, make them more chaotic.”
“Are you annoyed?”
“You’re wasting my time, and I was making a really good seal. I thought I was on the way to making it perfect even without you doing anything, and then you brought me here and broke my concentration. It’s gonna turn out poorly again, when I was close to figuring out how to do it flawlessly.”
Newt apologized to the sulking dragon and let him carve the perfect ditch in his soul. He and Ruby quickly left Thunderbluff, and it was time to return home, their mission complete. Not only had they secured the support of two more ducal houses, but they had around ten to fifteen percent of extra ingredients they were tasked to gather.
Several hours later, when they entered the jungle separating the former Salamandra holdings from the rest of the empire, Ruby exhaled in relief.
“I can’t believe it. It’s done, and we’re both alive.” She smiled. “Could you please put me down? I want to walk on my own two feet. I was certain I was going to die in a cultist attack or something.”
Newt gently placed her on the ground, and also let out his stress as a nervous laugh. “I was honestly expecting something would happen ever since we left the autumn kingdoms. For a moment, I even thought the emperor herself would chase us.”
He didn’t mention that after what she had just said, he half expected to see her head explode in a sneak attack.
