One evening Irisis went to the scrutator and begged to be allowed to go on the balloon. She could not stop thinking about Tiaan's crystal.
'What on earth for?' His single brow wrinkled into a series of furrows. 'What could you do that would justify the disruption your absence would cause here?'
Irisis had a carefully prepared rationale but before that cold stare it seemed childish. She dropped her gaze.
'You do want to be crafter here?' he said softly. 'The breeding factory is only a suspended sentence, remember.'
Irisis felt that he was peering inside her head, and that he knew, and had always known, what a fraud she was. Under her, the artisans were producing more and better controllers than ever, but no doubt he enjoyed having that hold over her.
'All I ever dreamed about was to be crafter.' They still had a week's work to do when Ullii found Tiaan again. She was practically due west this time. 'Lakes and mountains,' said the seeker.
'As before?' Nish asked.
'No, big, big mountains.'
'Sounds like she's gone north from Kalissin,' said the scrutator. 'To the Great Mountains. She could be anywhere along a line a hundred leagues long. There's nothing for it, artificer. You'll have to leave at once.'
'The balloon isn't finished.'
'It will be. We'll work night and day to make sure of it. You'll go at dawn the day after tomorrow.'
Nish marked Ullii's direction on the map he was to take with him. On the last night the seeing was so strong that Ullii grew agitated. 'Fire and smoke, Nish!'
'A campfire?' Nish asked.
'Big fires. Fires coming out of the tops of mountains.'
The scrutator was alarmed. 'I don't understand. She's seeing volcanoes? There are no volcanoes in that land, or anywhere between the Great Mountains and the inland seas. Can her directions be completely wrong?' He cracked his crab-limb finger joints in agitation.
Further questioning revealed that the volcanoes were visions of Tiaan's, not what Ullii was actually seeing. The scrutator was not comforted.
'I don't like it. I wonder if I should come too?'
Nish did not care for that idea. There would be no credit in it for him if the scrutator led the expedition. 'Maybe better that I take a skeet to send word back,' he said carefully, 'and you remain here where you can act swiftly, should the need arise.'
Flydd gave him a knowing glance. 'There are arguments either way. I'll make my decision in the morning. Meantime, if I am to go, there's much I must record first. I also answer to unforgiving masters, artificer.'
Nish took the hint. Dawn came and went. The wind blew in the right direction but the balloon was not ready, though everyone had worked through the night. Nish was utterly exhausted as he humped his pack out the front gate. He sat on it while the last checks were done.
Irisis was pacing round and round the basket. She wore full mountain gear, including down-filled jacket and pants. Was she planning to jump on at the last minute? Nish hoped not.
The scrutator was also dressed for the cold, though he was calm. 'Have you decided, surr?' Nish tried to conceal his nervousness.
'I believe I will come with you after all. There is much to be learned about this new means of transport.'
Nish's heart sank to his knees. 'That is wonderful, surr,' he lied.
The scrutator frowned. 'It's not a reward, artificer. This is a desperate venture. The chance of any of us getting there is slim. The hope of us coming back alive, with her, almost non-existent. You do realise this?'
Nish had been trying not to think about that but of course Flydd was right. This was not a bold mission but a suicidal one. What would they find at the destination? Most probably a lyrinx dining table.
'You can still back out,' the scrutator said quietly.
'And confirm your opinion of me, and my father's?'
'You don't know what my opinion of you is.'
Nish thought for a minute. He did not have to go, and all his life he'd taken as few risks as possible, never losing sight of his goal. He could stay behind, work hard at his craft and probably rise in it. The war offered many opportunities. And there was Irisis too.
He met the scrutator's eyes. On the other hand, if he did stay, who would take care of Ullii? In spite of his barely sublimated lust, no one cared for her as Nish did. Moreover, the balloon had been his idea and he wanted to follow it through. He wanted to redeem himself too. Staying here could never erase the stain on his record.
Most importantly, that the scrutator was prepared to risk his own life on this mission showed how vital it was. How could he refuse?
'I will go,' Nish said. His knee shook and he knew that the scrutator noted it. 'Even if there are a thousand lyrinx at the other end. How else are we to win the war?'
The man's eyes gleamed. Crab fingers gripped Nish's shoulder. 'Keep an eye out for anything of a flesh-forming nature.' The scrutator turned away. At mid-morning the mechanician finally climbed down from the basket. 'It's ready. Fill it up!'
They began to inflate the balloon with hot air funnelled via a flexible pipe from a fire built nearby. They did not want to waste fuel getting the craft airborne. By the time it was inflated a strong wind was blowing. The structure strained at the guy ropes.
'Time to go,' said Flydd, examining the sky. It was midday. 'I don't like the look of the weather.'
Nish did not, either. Moreover, the late start meant that there was no chance of reaching their destination before dark. Setting down for the night in this wind would be perilous. By dinnertime he might be burnt to death, or fallen to his doom.
Ullii climbed in, crouching down in a padded basket specially made for her. A skeet was caged on the other side, to carry a message back. The cage was covered, skeets being notoriously vicious. Nish shook hands with the mechanician and Overseer Tuniz. Climbing up the rope ladder with wobbly knees, he went over the high side. Last came the soldiers and Rustina, whose gear had been stowed earlier.
Irisis was pacing more anxiously than before, practically running back and forth. What was she planning?
'Are you coming, surr?' Nish called down to Flydd.
The scrutator tugged the anchor cables. 'I just want to see how she lifts. Let go a few ropes and slacken off the others.'
Nish fetched him a salute. 'Cast off those ropes!' He gestured with a theatrical flourish that took all the braggadocio he could muster. 'Slacken the other tethers. Open the furnace damper!'
It was done but the balloon did not look like lifting. Nish was glad.
M'lainte frowned. 'I did wonder if it would take that much gear. Rustina, bring your troops down for a minute. We'll have to work this out again.'
Seven of the soldiers got out. The eighth began handing their gear down. He'd just lifted the second pack when a furious gust heeled the balloon over. It lifted sharply and all but one of the ropes ripped their stakes out. Everything not tied down, including Nish, fell against Ullii's basket. The skeet screeched. Ullii wailed. The brazier roared and flames licked up toward the tarred fabric. If it caught, the balloon would go up like a bonfire.
The mechanician shouted something. Nish could not tell what, with the wind in his ears. Irisis threw herself at one of the dangling ropes but was carried up into the air.
The balloon whirled on its remaining tether, down until it was in danger of smashing into the ground, then up again just as abruptly. Nish had to do something before it crashed and exploded. Whipping out his knife, he hacked clean through the remaining rope. Another gust lifted the balloon, which soared into the sky, righted itself and kept rising. Irisis wailed and let go.
Down below, the scrutator was shouting. The words did not carry. A white-faced Irisis was staring up at him. She did not seem to be hurt.