Keron
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Chapter 177 - Forming Infrastructure
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 17:00:12 +0000 UTCEmily rises from the dark chute connecting to the array chamber, brimming with energy.
At a glance, she sees the cliff’s long shadow, cast by the mid-morning sun, stretching out across the ocean. Pod is standing in the dim light near the window to the outside world, diligently using a press to form a piece of metal.
Emily approaches him, turning to inspect the stacked-up rows of identical metal rotor blades he has laid out for her in the cavern’s open space.
Bending down, she brushes her fingers against the curved metal fins, sending a tingling buzz of machina across their surfaces. She nods in satisfaction before sweeping most of them into her belt, keeping a few out to make some small corrections to.
“Pay extra attention to the angle when you connect them,” Emily reminds her apprentice, pulling his attention away from the work in his hands as his head snaps over suddenly. “They need to be uniform.”
“Okay.” He nods enthusiastically. “Have you finished your array?”
“Yes,” Emily replies, noticing the faint bags below Pod’s eyes despite his attempt to seem alert. “Do you need to sleep?”
“N-“ he begins to deny, reaching for another machine to continue his work, but freezes as he meets Emily’s emotionless gaze, swallowing his words. “Yes, probably. I’ve been awake for a few days now.”
“Follow me then,” Emily says without a change in expression, gesturing for Pod to join her as she heads back towards the chamber connecting tunnel. “I want to test if extended mana exposure has any beneficial effects on you.”
They step up to the hole in the ground, and Emily lifts them both with a gust of wind, lowering them slowly into the dark recess. They sink towards the glowing light far below their feet, and Pod begins squirming uncomfortably as they get close.
“It feels… sticky?” he mumbles with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.
“In what way?”
“Like wading through mud. It’s not p-“ he cuts off his explanation as the narrow tunnel suddenly opens up into a vast chamber with walls covered in glowing sigils.
“Go on,” Emily urges, standing with her back to the rest of the room as the boy lifts a hand to wave through the faintly glistening vapour filling the space.
“It’s not painful, but it’s not comfortable,” he finishes quietly, his eyes drifting between the sparkling patterns forming in the air around his fingers.
She nods and notes down his observations, gesturing towards the room with a sweeping motion.
“That’s good. Meditate for a bit before you go to sleep and keep note of anything interesting.”
As he nods in response, she lifts herself up and into the dark tunnel out.
Instead of rising to the workshop again, Emily pauses a short distance above the gathering array, placing a hand on the wall and using Earthen Detection to check the position of the nearby ocean. She slowly slides up the wall until she’s in line with the seabed below the sheer cliff, where the water churns most violently against the uneven rocks.
She freezes in place, halting the floating platform of air beneath her feet as she reaches into her belt and pulls out a new artefact, one she created overnight, to utilise the raw earthen mana waiting for her in the array below.
The artefact takes the form of a hand-sized silver-grey metal prong, traced with runes and a few distinct cracks, mounted to a rectangular baseplate with several earthen magic crystals fixed to its surface.
Emily places the spiked end of the prong to the wall before charging the metal, purely gathered from the hands of iron-clawed moles, with mana and sliding it into the earth with little resistance. She activates the artefact, watching as the prong embedded in the wall breaks into four pieces and slides through the stone, drawing the boundaries of a new space to be created.
The plate fixed in place before her pulses and begins glowing as a faint stream of brown mist drifts up the tunnel from below, feeding into it.
The wall starts to recede, sinking back and splitting as the stone turns to a thick sludge that presses towards the walls and ceiling of a forming cavern.
When the space is half-way complete, with smooth surfaces spreading out tens of metres from the initial chute, the glowing metal plate loses its lustre, and the five magic crystals fixed to it shatter, crumbling into a dull, lightless dust.
“Tsk,” Emily clicks her tongue, approaching the magical tool and using a brush to clean the empty sockets. “Ten earth crystals per chamber. It’s a shame I can’t use greater crystals properly yet. They’d survive this mana-load without breaking.”
She slots a fresh set of crystals into place and lets the terraformer continue, this time following it as the room’s walls creep back, keeping a hand pressed to the metal plate so she can channel her mana through it, controlling the shape of the space as it approaches the sea. She narrows the chamber into a rising slope at the end, stopping only a few inches before she would break through to the water waiting outside.
Turning back, her gaze scans over the dark, empty hall, and more precise plans start to form in her mind.
“I’ll prepare the chambers above first, then I can start on the partition in here,” she mutters to herself, pulling the terraformer from the wall and striding away with purpose.
***
A few days after starting to build her cliffside factory, Emily decides to start feeding the cursed tooth again. Every day, she sets aside a small portion of time to sit in the mouth of the cave, shooting down at any creatures daring enough to peek above the surf.
A few weeks slip by, and the dull hum of an approaching airship pulls Emily and Pod away from their work. Pod sets down the wiring he was twisting together, and Emily tucks the Whisper back into her belt, lifting Mensacus from her lap and gently brushing her flesh fingers across the smooth casing of his seal before tucking him away.
She stands up, pushing off from the metal plating wrapped around the border of the empty window, and steps out into the air. Pod grabs onto his hanging ascender and rises up to join her in watching Calypso float down towards the ground.
The ship touches down, and Anton alights with Angela close behind.
“Hey,” Emily greets them with a wave, approaching the base of the vessel’s stairs.
“Hey,” Anton and Angela respond in sync before the ship’s captain continues alone. “Our cargo holds are completely full. Where do you want everything?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Emily responds with a dismissive wave. “There isn’t a way to get Calypso into my workshop yet, so I’ll move everything down myself.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Speaking of,” Angela cuts in as they head towards the rear of the ship where a cargo hatch is being lowered. “Where is this workshop? You’ve already had more than a month, but I don’t see anything here yet.”
“It’s all below our feet,” Pod eagerly explains. “We’ve been working on the core infrastructure for the factory before we start any surface structures.”
“What kind of core infrastructure do you need that can’t be done above ground?”
“Same things as most normal factories. Though, we’ve also got a mana vein connection and electricity.”
“Most normal factories?” Angela questions, meeting Anton’s gaze and finding equal amounts of confusion looking back. “The hell do normal factories need?”
“Ugh, right,” Pod chuckles, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Steam, water, and fuel. Normally, you need steam accessible anywhere within your working space to power most of your machines, so you want it in place before you start trying to set up a production line. At least, that was Earnie’s advice. Anyway, in our case, we also had electrical set-up as an extra requirement, but that sort of got fixed in the process of dealing with the rest.”
“Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that too.” Angela tilts her head, looking to Emily for clarity. “What is that?”
“Electricity: the flow of charge,” she responds lightly, watching the woman’s brow crease deepen as she pulls out a small, battery-powered lightning fork to demonstrate. “It’s not something you’ll have heard of before, since I coined the term, but it looks a little like tamed lightning, and we can use it in place of steam to power our machines.”
“Huh,” Angela hums in response, staring at the electricity leaping between the fork’s prongs with interest but not pushing for a more detailed explanation.
The ground shudders slightly as Calypso’s cargo bay touches down, so Emily tosses the trinket to Angela and heads up the metal ramp into the belly of the ship, where crates are stacked from floor to ceiling around them. Ash appears at the top of the slope, greeting Emily and Pod with a nod as they approach.
“You can replace steam?” they ask as they get close, having overheard the conversation outside.
“Yes. It’s a far more efficient energy source.” Emily gestures to Angela messing with the crackling, hand-held stun gun. “Would you like to have a little look at the generators? I could show you how they work if you’d like.”
“Yes please, I’d love that.”
Emily nods and turns her attention to the ship’s cargo. She holds out a hand to Pod, and he passes her a few empty spatial pouches.
She sweeps through the room with her mana, checking the contents of the crates and finding kilos of metal and crystal. With a satisfied hum, she pulls everything into the pouches before turning to Anton.
“Which holds have the rest?” she asks, leading the group out into the ship’s corridor.
“One through four,” Anton answers quickly, pointing helpfully towards the indicated stores. “Only five and six have fuel and food at the moment.”
They pass through the cargo holds one by one, collecting all the resources Emily exchanged for her Silver Moon contribution with a call to Old Man Silver, including a sizable collection of preserved materials from an assortment of dead plants and beasts.
After clearing the ship of her delivery, Emily counts out a hefty chunk of gold coins from her belt to pay Anton before offering the members of the crew she’s friendly with a visit to her main workshop.
***
“He’s taking a nap. Looks like it’s just us,” Angela calls out as she walks down the ship’s stairs, returning to the group after checking if Tony wants to join them.
Emily puts away the small coil of wire and magnets she was using to explain electrical generation to Ash before turning on her heel and walking towards the cliff’s edge.
“Follow us then,” she says as Pod falls into step beside her. “We haven’t connected the workshop to the surface yet, so I’ll have to lift you all down.”
“Lift us? Are you gonna throw us over your shoulder or something?” Angela asks with a chuckle and a grin, mock-flexing her muscles.
“I could,” Emily responds, glancing over with a raised brow. “But why would I need to do that?”
She raises her metal hand and clicks her fingers with a sharp crack. A swirling gust of wind bursts from her body, carrying with it a twisting matrix of runes that wraps around Anton, Angela, and Ash, lifting them off their feet.
“Woah!” Anton exclaims, losing his balance and tipping sideways as he loses contact with the ground.
He spins in place, doing a full rotation before returning to an upright position and stabilising himself with his arms extended.
“This is amazing!”
Angela and Ash both murmur their agreement, using a few nearby rocks jutting from the cliff to move themselves around, playing with the new sensation of weightlessness.
Pod sets up his climbing gear and leaps over the edge as they adjust, so Emily steps out into thin air and pulls her passengers after her.
Their excitement noticeably dampens as they float out over a sheer drop over the violent waters below with no control, but all three of them quickly shake off their momentary vertigo to enjoy the experience. As Emily guides them through the gaping metal maw cut into the exposed rock face, their eyes roam the bare metal surfaces where seamless sheets of steel have been fused together to give the entire cavern a glistening sheen.
“This plating is incredibly well done. How did you mount it?” Ash asks, bending down to tap their knuckles on the ground as Emily sets them all down and releases her spell.
“You’ll be disappointed. It was magic,” Emily replies, tossing up an orb of light to illuminate the space in place of the empty slots cut into the ceiling, waiting for lights to be installed. “Since none of the metalwork is structural, I simply mixed and spread a thin layer of alloy before hardening it into place in one go.”
“How unfair,” they respond wistfully, standing up.
“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Pod grumbles under his breath before flinching and reaching for one of the revolvers at his waist.
He whips the gun to bear, using the reinforced metal barrel to deflect the screwdriver flying towards his shoulder, sending the tool clattering to the floor harmlessly.
The members of Calypso’s crew stare in silent disbelief as Emily lowers the mechanical arm that moved faster than they could follow, their gazes bouncing between her and her apprentice with looks of concern and confusion.
“Haha, right. No complaining about your cheating magic,” Pod says, collecting the screwdriver and tossing it back.
“You almost took his head off for agreeing with me?” Ash questions in disbelief.
“I almost poked him with a screwdriver for breaking one of my instructions,” Emily corrects them, moving deeper into the room and away from the machines gathered by the cave’s mouth. “He knew what would happen when he said that. Besides, even if he didn’t, it’s good training for his reflexes. I expect him to dodge bullets eventually: a few thrown tools are a small step to start with.”
The visitors exchange dubious glances at Emily’s teaching methods, but Pod skips over and falls into step beside her again, turning to reassure his old crew with a beaming grin, resting his hands on the handles of his holstered weapons.
“It’s fine. I just have to make sure not to mention her cheating magic.”
Emily’s right arm moves this time, and the crack of gunfire echoes off the confined metal walls as a bullet sends her swipe wide. The three merchants following them flinch back and cover their ears as Emily’s fist snaps shut and her arm sails over Pod’s head.
The boy’s grin widens as he feels the wind from her glancing blow ruffle his hair, staring at his old crewmates’ fallen jaws.
“And she won’t do things like that.”
Emily opens her clenched fist, dropping a crushed bullet to the floor with a clink before massaging the fresh red spot in her palm where it hit.
Pod spins back around, reholstering the gun he fired from his hip and hopping to match Emily’s stride since she didn’t pause for his display.
“Happy?” she asks quietly, glancing over at the boy’s gleeful expression.
“Very,” he nods before stepping out ahead of them and hurrying over to operate the elevator winch fixed to the ceiling above the chute to the lower chambers.
“We’ll start at the lowest level,” Emily explains to their visitors, stepping onto the distinct circular plate of black metal plugging the path down and gesturing for them to do the same. “The mana vein connection chamber.”
Pod presses one of the buttons on the winch’s body, starting the machine’s light whir of motion before he joins them on the sinking platform connected to the end of the cable. It drops below the surface, revealing more metal-plated walls all the way down.
They pass a few closed, heavy metal doors, but the elevator doesn’t stop until it drops into the open room covered in runic engravings and filled with a mist of mana at the bottom.
Anton, Angela, and Ash all look around the glowing markings with interest, noticing the odd pressure pushing against their motions like being under the sea, but none of them understands what they’re seeing. After a minute of looking around and waving their arms through the mist, Anton pulls at the collar of his overalls, gasping a little before wiping sweat from his brow.
“Is it just me, or is it really hot in here?”
“Yeah, it’s hard to breathe.” Ash nods in agreement.
“That will be the mana density,” Emily explains. “It’s not harmful to you unawakened folk, but your body needs to adjust to the exposure. Like with high altitude.”
“Also,” Pod cuts in, dabbing at his brow and pulling his sleeve away, stained with a few faint drops of sweat. “It’s kind of hot in here. It wasn’t yesterday. What did you do?”
Emily raises a brow before focusing on her magical perception.
“I modified the array in the heating chamber above us and…”
She notices a faint stream of fire-attributed mana slipping down the chute from a door close above, so thin it’s being absorbed into her skin by her passive energy circulation before she can feel a temperature change.
“Left a small leak,” she finishes her thought, sending a stream of machina up to activate the winch as she leads them back onto the elevator. “Let’s go fix that.”
