“The guys holding that wall are tough,” Calu commented from the rail to Mari’s right. “They’re not giving any ground at all.”
“But there aren’t enough of them,” Alli said. She was standing next to Alain, who was just to Mari’s left. “Just imagine what those guys could do if they all had rifles. If they all had the new rifles we’re going to make!”
Mari, worriedly watching the fight near the town wall, was surprised when a sudden boom announced the firing of the Pride’s deck gun. She could see the shell fly out in a flat trajectory toward the ballista that was firing on the wall. The shell struck and exploded, throwing up a fountain of dirt and grass a dozen lances from the ballista.
She saw Mechanic Deni making adjustments to the deck gun while it was reloaded. Deni stood back and pointed at the gunner, who fired again.
This time the shell struck only a few lances from the ballista.
Those attacking the wall had been absorbed in the fight, but the sounds of two explosions had drawn their attention. Mari saw some of the attackers edging away from the wall, pointing out to the ships in the harbor and shouting words impossible to hear from this far away.
A third boom, a third shell flying out, and an explosion right next to the ballista that sent its crew flying away. Some of the ballista’s crew got up and ran, but others lay still.
“Shift your target to the soldiers in front of the wall!” Captain Banda called from the quarterdeck.
The next shell exploded in the rear ranks of the attackers, blowing apart a new ladder being brought up as well as those carrying it.
“Dud!” the gunner yelled.
Mari watched the gun crew yank open the breech and hastily pull out the shell that hadn’t fired. Two carried the shell to the edge and tossed it as far from the ship as they could, the unexploded shell making only a large splash as it hit the water.
“Only five rounds left,” Mari said.
“The Dolphin is in position,” Alain pointed out.
From this angle Mari could see how thin the ranks of soldiers on the Dolphin’s deck were. But from the shore those ranks should look deep and solid. The Dolphin’s crew was making an elaborate production out of preparing the ship’s boats for lowering.
Another shot from the Pride’s gun slammed into the force outside the town wall.
The attack collapsed, those who had been trying to breach the wall now running away from it in a confused mass.
“Cease fire!” Banda called. “Well done! That will teach those scum not to mess with Mechanic artillery!”
“It’s a good thing they don’t know we only have four shots left,” Alli commented. “Now what? Pursue the beaten enemy?”
“I would not advise that,” Alain said. “There is too much we do not know. The size of this warlord’s forces, the nature of the land, what other threats might be near, and how the townspeople would react to us landing soldiers even outside their walls.”
“I’m with Alain,” Calu said.
“Far be it from me to argue,” Alli said.
Mari nodded and turned to face the quarterdeck. “Captain Banda, tell the Dolphin to break off the fake landing and move back into the harbor. I’m going to need a boat to take a group ashore to talk with the town’s leaders.”
“Yes, Lady Master Mechanic,” Banda replied. “I hope you are not assuming the town’s leaders will be grateful.”
She looked through her far-seers at the section of wall that had been most fiercely attacked and most fiercely defended. The men and women atop the wall were not celebrating victory, not cheering or raising weapons high. They stood, weapons at ready, all facing toward the four ships that had entered the harbor of Pacta Servanda.
The warning she had received from the captain of the Gray Lady came back to her. The defenders of Pacta Servanda looked uncomfortably lean and wolfish as they unflinchingly faced what they must see as another threat.
Mari had kept the landing party small but hopefully impressive. Herself. Mechanics Alli and Calu. Master Mechanic Lukas and Professor S’san. All of the Mechanics were impossible to mistake in their dark jackets. Alain, Mage Dav, Mage Hiro, and Mage Alera in their robes. Major Sima and a couple of his soldiers. The captain of the Gray Lady and a few sailors.
The only sound as they were rowed to the town landing was the splash of water as oars dipped and rose. Mari could see abandoned buildings along the waterfront. She could also see groups of people silently watching the approaching boat. Something about the way they stood waiting made Mari grateful for the pistol holstered under her jacket.
Calu shifted his grip on his rifle as he stared back at the silent watchers. “This feels like one of those stories where everyone is yelling at the characters, ‘Don’t go into that town!’ Doesn’t it?”
“No one warned me of any cannibalism in Pacta Servanda,” the Gray Lady’s captain remarked cheerfully. “I’m sure they would have mentioned that if it was anything to worry about.”
A detachment of soldiers awaited the boat as it reached the landing. The soldiers wore the green and gold of Tiae on their uniforms, the colors faded and the fabric worn and patched from age and use. Their armor and the weapons they carried were battered, but in good repair and without a trace of rust.
“These soldiers remind me of some others,” Alain murmured to Mari.
“I was thinking the same thing,” she replied. The inhabitants of the university in Marandur, holding things together within their small portion of the world but showing the strain of being under constant threat and having to make do with the leavings of the past.
The officer in command stood at the edge of the landing, waving off the sailors on the boat who tried to tie up. The sailors took one look at the soldiers behind her, their weapons drawn and ready, and settled back to wait for their superiors to handle things.
Mari didn’t blame them. The soldiers had the grim look of professionals who combined experience with fatalism. Facing a pack of wolves would probably have been less intimidating.
“Why are you here?” the officer demanded, her voice as harsh as her expression.
Mari stayed seated in the boat as she tried to sound both confident and nonthreatening. “We want to meet the leaders of Pacta Servanda.”
“If you seek ransom or an opportunity to pillage, you are wasting your time. The only things of value left in Pacta Servanda are our weapons, and those we will only give you point first.”
“We don’t want a ransom,” Mari said. “We just helped drive off the people assaulting your wall. We are here to help this town. We are here to help Tiae.”
The officer smiled incredulously. “To help Tiae? Are you not a few years late in that task, Lady Mechanic?”
“Yes,” Mari said. “But hopefully not too late. Do you speak for the town? We have an offer for your leaders. Not threats. An offer. Are you authorized to reject that offer?”
As Mari had hoped, the officer had vast experience with confronting physical threats but not much familiarity with diplomacy. “Your ships fly the flag of no country. I will not allow pirates to land in this city.”
“Don’t you want to know whose flag they do fly?” Professor S’san asked, unintimidated.