The exercise yard was little more than a large, circular disc protruding from the side of the tower like a giant leaf. It was really a shallow bowl, packed with dirt and rocks. Large metal boxes around the sides had other equipment that could be set up, very rarely, either to give the prisoners more leisure or to work them harder. At the moment, though, the yard was completely empty.
While they had been inside, the morning sun had climbed high enough to brighten the sky overhead, but only the top of the Arx had ascended above the shadows of the mountain. The warm, open skies teased at them, promising freedom and success while they waited in the dark, cold shadow of the Arx itself. There was no sign of Mor or the airship. The sky was too bright and clear, with hardly any clouds anymore. There was no way for her to have stayed close without being immediately spotted and shot down.
"I assumed you had an escape plan," Rapax remarked after a lengthy silence.
As if in response to the snark, the doors to the exercise yard suddenly burst open. Immediately Deni and Val let loose with their guns. It was in vain, however: the bullets slammed uselessly against huge toward shields. A wall of them led the charge out onto the platform, four guards carrying the enormous shields. In a practiced formation, the four split apart and more guards rushed in behind them, spreading out to the sides. Eight, a dozen... there were sixteen guards total. One last guard came in behind them, and by his uniform, he was the one in charge.
They were waiting, letting the intruders get themselves backed into a corner. The guard captain was speaking aloud, "Intruders located, exercise yard, floor one ten. Currently obscured by mist, so definite numbers are unconfirmed. Requesting back-up."
"Unbelievable," Orator remarked with a laugh. "They must have at least ten alchemists on the ground floor, relaying information between the floors up here."
The captain stepped forward, ahead of the guards with the shields. Around him, all of the visible guards were armed with rifles. Some were huddled directly behind the shield-bearers, as well, probably casters. A trained eye showed that some were more accustomed to the weapons than others, but with sheer numbers, the hail of bullets would still be deadly. "Give up," the captain called out. "You've made admirable progress, but you have nowhere else to go. We've moved our best snipers to the roof, so your airship can't get in for an extraction.
"It was clever, and yet so obvious. Thanks to your efforts, we'll improve the defenses of the Arx so that this won't happen again. All that's left is for you to lay down your weapons and come quietly." He lifted one hand, and all of the guards brought their guns to the ready.
Rapax spoke up quietly, just loud enough for the others hidden in the mist to hear. "Don't worry. My sister's an idiot."
Orator laughed one more time. "Back up," he advised. "Get closer to the edge."
Reilly spoke up. "Lower your weapons, everyone. Don't toss them. Just enough that the fuckers won't open fire immediately when they see us."
"Last chance!" the guard captain yelled out.
There was a humming sound somewhere below, there and gone again.
The mist dissipated. The intruders stood at the far end of the exercise platform, near the very edge. With a wave forward, the guard captain led the contingent forward, keeping a wide net to prevent any runners. The bold laicar captain stayed out in the open, inviting the outlaws to take him down first, showing not the least hint of concern.
Orator took a step forward, empty hands raised. He wore the visage of his free self, with mask and cloak rather than prison garb. "I've much appreciated your hospitality," he called out, "but I'm afraid I must decline your offer to stay. I've things to do, places to go, people to see."
Rapax grumbled something under his breath, but cocked his head as that humming sound appeared again.
"Besides!" Orator continued. "I've realized something important!"
The captain scowled, unimpressed by the theatrics. "Better to die free than live a prisoner?" he guessed drily.
The towering laicar shook his head, then lowered one hand to point at one of the pouches he had confiscated earlier. "No. See, this pouch... it has another pocket!"
Suddenly, the banter was drowned out by the hum, louder than ever, as Mor and the airship rose up from beneath the platform. "Get on!" she yelled, angrily yanking levers and spinning a crank. The ship floated haphazardly, going into a spin.
"Open fire!"
Orator pulled another vial of auritium from the hidden pouch and completed the spell he had started with his upheld hand: Sunrise. In that moment there was a burst of sunlight so intense that many of the guards cried out in physical pain, the searing light burning their retinas. Some of the blinded guards fired anyway. Mor let out a shriek of surprise, but thankfully none of the bullets struck her.
As everyone piled onto the airship, Mor growled out, "Too heavy! I told you, I fucking told you!" But instead of booting anyone off then and there, there was a loud cranking sound as Mor shifted the airship into gear, rushing away at top speed. They were rapidly losing altitude, aiming for a crash straight into the side of the mountains. Down below, basilisk riders were already rushing underneath them. If they crashed, they would be surrounded in moments.
"What do you mean too heavy?" Rapax shouted back over the roar of the engines and the rush of the wind. He was looking around, quickly realizing that all the non-essential parts had already been stripped. Then his eyes settled on the rocket booster that was settled between the propellers. "Give me that!" Rapax demanded, snatching the pouch of pulveris from Orator, quickly taking stock of the remaining sands inside.
"Everyone grab onto something! Mor, aim this thing straight up!"
"What are you doing?" Mor asked, but she complied immediately, bringing the airship nearly vertical in an instant, nearly throwing everyone from the vehicle, including herself. Instead of answering, Rapax yanked corks out of multiple vials and started pouring them into the fuel tank for the jet engine. "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted again, wide-eyed. "That's not meant to take pulveris!"
"Shut up and fire it!" Biting back an argument, Mor hit the ignition on the thruster. It roared to life, putting out a blue flame that slowed their descent. "All the way!" Rapax insisted. Mor dialed up the output to max. Suddenly the jet was no longer shooting out a clean blue flame. It started cracking and popping, blasting out gouts of silvery fire. The airship stopped falling. Instead, it shot higher into the air, like the whole thing was a rocket. That only lasted for a few seconds, though, before the back end of the jet exploded in a hail of shrapnel. The flames continued to spew, less focused but no less powerful.
The mountains were coming up fast, the lowest peaks rushing by underneath the airship. "Come on, higher, higher..!" They narrowly skimmed past one towering peak, but there were still more ahead. "Hang on!"
The bottom of the airship hit against the final soaring spire, the spike of rock tearing through the airship like paper, nearly taking Reilly leg before it ripped through one of the propellers with a nasty crunch. The airship went into a spin, but they had cleared the mountain wall!
"Get rid of it!" Mor shouted. The jet thruster was going non-stop, even after she disabled it from the control panel. They were going to end up slamming into one of the taller mountain spires ahead if they didn't get it under control.
Surprisingly Hikaru was the first to respond, the usually slow-witted pirate almost immediately forming a diamond portal and punching the back of it. Blades of wind shot out, ripping through the back end of the airship. Aelflead held on for her life with one hand, but managed to swing her sword with the other to finish severing the jet from the rest of the airship.
The device shot off like a rocket, several loud pops resounding before the entire thing exploded high overhead.
"Aquila's wings, that was close..." Mor groaned. It took several minutes, still, before Mor was able to stabilize the airship, or what was left of it, and a little longer to figure out how to direct the thing forward with only one remaining engine. She took a deep breath, then suddenly looked around, startled. "Did we lose someone? We're not falling..."
Rapax laughed. "Idiot. The jet thruster was easily as heavy as any one of us. If we needed, we could also ditch the other propeller that's busted, now."
"You don't get to call me idiot when I just rescued you from prison, idiot!"
"All the more reason to call you idiot, idiot."
Orator laughed and climbed up a little higher to get a better view of the horizon, gripping one of the ropes lashing the balloons together. "The Conexus don't have any airships of their own. Be sure they'll be addressing that soon, but for now, I think we're home free."
"Somehow," Reilly groused.
"Cheer up," Mor grumbled back. "You just did the impossible, idiots. You got into the Arx, and got people out, and lived."
[1600/7700] End
