Chapter 2

Maeryn met her friends at their usual spot: a cavern in a set of tunnels about a twenty-minute walk from town. The cavern, once part of a beautification project, had been slated to become an underground park or childcare facility before the mana depletion problem forced all such projects to be delayed indefinitely. Now, it was their secret hideout, a place where they could plan without interruptions.

Dan and Frankie were already there, waiting for her. Dan, short for his age and deceptively thin, greeted her with a grin. Despite his slight frame, he was incredibly strong, a fact Maeryn often marveled at. His clothes were covered in pockets, each one bulging with who-knows-what. Maeryn was confident she could ask Dan for the most obscure item, and he’d probably have it in one of his many pockets.

Dan was the group's magic specialist, having spent years at the Alchemical Workshop. Some of the recent magic conservation techniques originated from his studies, and if anyone could figure out what was going on with the Mist, it was Dan.

Frankie, on the other hand, was a lanky girl who looked every bit the steamhead at first glance. And that was accurate—she loved all things steam technology and was happiest when tinkering with some bit of machinery. But her true passion was vehicles. Frankie lived for speed, always looking to eke out a little more from any machine she got her hands on.

Maeryn had been trying to figure out how to recruit Frankie for her mission years ago when Frankie had simply walked up to her and stated, “I know you’re hatching a crazy plan to save the world, and you better not leave me behind. Besides, you’ll need a good engineer to get where you’re going.” To this day, Maeryn didn’t know what had given her away, and Frankie never said.

As Maeryn approached, Frankie looked up from the engine she was tweaking and gave a nod. "Took you long enough," she teased, wiping grease from her hands. "Ready to change the world?"

Maeryn smiled, feeling a surge of confidence. With friends like these, maybe they had a shot after all. “Ready as I’m gonna be. Let’s go over the plan one more time, and then we’ll get going.”

“Figured you’d say that,” Dan said agreeably even as Frankie let out a long-suffering sigh. “Over to the blackboard, then.”

They moved to the back of the cavern, where a large blackboard - two meters tall and five meters wide - resided. It was almost completely full of writing and notes from all three of them. Maeryn fondly remembered the days of spirited debate the three of them had had over the years.

She took a deep breath, and stepped in front of the blackboard, eyes skimming over what she already knew was written there. They’d gone over it so many times that Maeryn felt she could probably reproduce it in her sleep, but this would be a terrible time to miss some important part. A few seconds later, she turned around to face her friends. “Right, then. We’re in agreement that while the Elders are doing their best, it’s not reasonable to believe that they’ll be able to fix the problem before Critical Mana Depletion.”

Dan and Frankie nodded.

“There are two primary avenues of investigation that haven’t been fully explored.” Maeryn tapped the left side of the blackboard. “Zephyria, and the Mist.”

Frankie nodded solemnly. “It’s very unlikely that the Zephyrians are unaffected by the mana depletion problem. Even if they aren’t the cause with their flying cities, it’s possible they have more insight on what’s going on. And even if they don’t, getting more eyes on the problem would only help. Worst case scenario, we find out for sure that the Zephyrians are causing the problem, and we can figure out what to do afterwards.”

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“The other avenue is a direct study of the Mist,” Dan added with a frown. “We’ve tried to study samples of Mist before, but it’s really tricky. We’ve only been able to work with small amounts at the Workshop, and it’s baffling. It acts like mana, except it can’t be absorbed and used by anything we’ve tried. We think that the mutative aspect is an emergent property that only takes place when there’s enough Mist in the area. It’s possible that Mist Mutation takes place when you’re literally breathing the air with a high enough concentration of Mist, but obviously we haven’t tested that. I might be able to learn more if I can run tests on the surface. If I can figure out how to convert the Mist back into plain old mana, then that would solve all of our problems in one swoop.”

“You’re both right,” Maeryn agreed with a firm nod. “The problem is that we can’t do both at the same time. And time is the most limiting factor we have. So the first step is collecting information and aid, to make the most of the time we have. We head to Zephyria. If they have any research into the Mist, or tools that might assist you in your research, Dan, it’s better to have it before you get started.”

Dan nodded heavily. They’d had this discussion repeatedly over the last couple of months, and while he didn’t particularly like it, he understood the decision.

“Which takes us to our next problem: how to reach one of their flying cities.” Maeryn tapped the right side of the blackboard. “Thankfully, their flight patterns are fairly consistent. Cloudreach is approaching their closest point from Lodestar’s surface entrance. Frankie, how’s that flying machine you’ve been tinkering with? Anyone interfering with it?”

“No, no one’s even visited the warehouse besides me,” Frankie stated confidently, crossing her arms with pride. “Ever since the Elders restricted the use of flying machines in order to reduce mana consumption, it’s been basically abandoned. I’ve been able to do as I please as long as I don’t draw attention to it. Stonewing is ready when you are. Not my fastest work, but considering you needed a mobile base of operations there’s only so much I can do.”

“Frankie and I have been stocking up on everything we think we might need and storing it in Stonewing,” Dan added helpfully. “My research equipment, non-perishable foods, water, materials for on-the-spot fixes, worktables, multiple sets of tools… anything and everything we could think of.”

“We even managed to snag a couple of sets of Mist-repelling barriers,” Frankie cheerfully stated with a grin.

“Thanks,” Maeryn said gratefully. “I would’ve helped, but…” She looked away awkwardly. “I would’ve been missed.”

Just like Dan had his work with the Alchemical Workshop, Frankie and Maeryn also had day jobs. Frankie lent her steam talents to maintaining city infrastructure, but Maeryn… well, simply put, Maeryn worked on the surface most days as a hunter, protecting the farmers from wandering beasts.

Her shift was in a couple of hours, actually, but by then Maeryn hoped that she’d be long gone.

Taking a moment to shake her head free of those thoughts, Maeryn looked at her friends. “We don’t know what awaits us at Cloudreach. They might still be friendly, they might not. They might have the answers we need, or they might be the source of our problems. But no matter what happens, we’re in this together. We get to Cloudreach, assess the situation, and plan from there. Any objections?”

“None here.”

“Nope.”

“Okay.” Maeryn took a deep breath, feeling the weight of their mission settle onto her shoulders. She looked at the familiar faces of her friends, their expressions mirroring her own mix of determination and apprehension.

At her word, the three of them were going to leave their homes, their families, everything they ever knew behind. There was no guarantee they’d ever be able to return, even if they were successful. But there was no turning back. Not now.

“Then let’s get going,” Maeryn declared, her voice steady despite the flutter of anxiety in her chest. “We’ve got a world to save.”

As they gathered their packs and made their final checks, Maeryn allowed herself one last glance around the cavern. The years of planning, the countless hours spent debating and strategizing, had all led to this moment. They would succeed. They had to succeed.

With a nod to Dan and Frankie, she led the way out of the cavern, the weight of their mission pressing on her but not slowing her down. Together, they stepped into the tunnel, their path illuminated by the soft glow of the gloss-moss, ready to face whatever awaited them at Cloudreach.