Call of the Hero (The Sanctuary Series Book 10) by Robert J. Crane

Author:Robert J. Crane [Crane, Robert J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ostiagard Press
Published: 2019-09-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 48

“Malpravus is forcibly emptying every ship's hold in the docks right now,” Cyrus said, staring over the table in the center of the Great Hall. It was round now, somehow, and the food upon it had vanished in favor of a map of the docks that Cyrus had conjured from one shown to him by McCoie when he'd shared this bit of news. “That's where the majority of the Machine's crooks are, but he's also got a fair number of loyalist City Watch there as well.” He planted a finger in the center of the dockyards. There were rows and rows of airships drawn upon it.

“Why can't these ships just take off?” Curatio asked, frowning as he leaned over the table. Every member of Sanctuary was here save Vara – thinking of her caused Cyrus a pang. Shirri, too, was missing, tasked with keeping Guy busy at Granary 18 with their newfound army. The young sorceress had taken the news a bit sourly, but had gone off to do her duty. A true member of Sanctuary, she was already proving to be.

“Each airship dock has a locking mechanism,” Cyrus said, parroting back what McCoie had told him. “It's part of the deal when you set down here, your ship is locked into place to prevent it from falling over. But also, it keeps you from leaving without ripping your ship apart.” He shook his head. “Apparently it's a mechanism of control that every dockyard in the world uses to maintain their – well, control.”

“So Malpravus is grabbing the remainder of the food in the city that's not already in his grasp,” Vaste said, nuzzled in next to Birissa just a little too close for Cyrus's comfort. “What then?”

“McCoie says the whispers are that they'll burn the docks when done,” Cyrus said, feeling that pang again, this time having little to do with Vara. “That will effectively end commerce in and out of Reikonos.”

“He really does mean to starve the city,” Pamyra said under her breath. She, too, leaned over the table, absolutely engrossed in what Cyrus had said.

“So it would seem,” Alaric said tautly. He surveyed the map from a little further back, standing stiffly next to the table, eyes anchored upon it. “When does McCoie think this will happen?”

“Could happen as soon as they've emptied the ships,” Cyrus said. “Or sooner, if they get itchy. Apparently grain dust and wood ships are quite explosively flammable, and docks elsewhere in the world have gone up in massive conflagrations completely by accident.” He shook his head. “We need to be wary of using fire in this attack lest we prompt the calamity we are attempting to stop.”

“Duly noted,” Alaric said. “I see little good news in this.”

Cyrus shrugged with one shoulder. “We have an army waiting at Granary 18, which is only a short distance from here. They are eager for the fight, and the sooner we put them to it, the better off we'll be.”

“We would be fools not to believe that Malpravus has at least one rat aboard our ship at this point,” Curatio warned.

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