The Dead Zone Sovereign

Chapter 26: The First Frost

The morning after they went into the archive was really quiet. The air in the river delta felt different. It was not controlled by machines anymore. The temperature had dropped a lot. It felt heavy. Valen was standing near the watchpoint. His hands were on the wooden frame of the barricade. The gray pattern on his skin was gone. It had faded away. His hands were rough from lifting wood and hitting iron.

The river was moving slowly. The edges were blocked by pieces of ice. The ice was. Making a loud sound. The waterwheel at the foundry was still turning.. It was moving slowly. The wooden paddles had icicles on them. They were catching the light of the sun. Valen did not see any warnings or readings. He just felt the wind on his face. His joints were stiff.

Noa came out of the storage depot. She was wearing a coat made of gray wool. It was coated with animal fat to keep her warm. She had a bundle of cedar slats under her arm. Each slat had notches on it. The notches showed how food they had left. Noa stopped at the base of the watchpoint. She looked up at Valen. Her breath was visible in the air.

The storage cells are keeping the temperature Noa said. The insulation is working.. The upper channel is getting blocked by ice. If it keeps getting blocked the waterwheel will stop. We need to clear the ice. We can use the iron scrap to make ice-picks.

Valen stepped down from the watchpoint. His boots made a crunching sound on the earth. We cannot rely on the machines to keep the water moving. Mara came down the path from the forge. She was wearing a leather coat. Her face was dirty with soot.. She looked relaxed. She was carrying an iron rod.

The blacksmiths just finished making spikes Mara said. We have metal to reinforce the gates. Noa asked if the scouts had seen any movement from the plateau. Mara said no. The platforms were still. Quiet. The machines were not. Deploying. They were just waiting.

Valen said they were not just waiting. They were thinking. They were trying to find a way to fix the problem. Noa and Valen walked towards the riverbank. Valen was thinking about the map they had seen. He wanted to build a boat. They needed to explore the coast. The map had shown communities along the coast. They might be facing the problems.

Noa said the wood they had was not good, for a boat. It was too light and porous. Valen said they could use metal to cover the framework. They did not need a boat. They just needed a scout boat. Noa was thinking about how to build it. Valen said it would take a lot of work.. It was necessary. They needed to know what was happening on the side of the bay.

Gar, the blacksmith was listening to Valens plan. He was standing over the anvil. His apron was covered in burn marks. He was thinking about the metal they had. Valen said they needed to use it to build a boat. Gar was not sure. He said the metal was meant to be used for something. Valen said a wall could keep them safe.. It could also keep them trapped. They needed to be able to move and explore. They needed a boat to control the approach.

Gar looked at Noa as she drew the lines of the keel on a piece of slate with a piece of chalk. The lines were simple and precise. Noa had figured out the weight of the iron plating.

The framework of the ship can be built from the pine trees near the cliffs Noa said, pointing to the diagram on the slate. The wood is dense. Has a lot of resin so it will not rot if the ship gets damaged. We only need the titanium plates to cover the front of the ship and the part that will touch the water. The places where the ice will hit the ship when we leave the river.

Gar. Rubbed the back of his neck where the coal dust had settled. It is going to take a lot of work he said, lifting his hammer again.. I will need a lot of people to help me keep the metal hot while we shape it. If the metal cools quickly it will break easily and the first piece of ice we hit will damage the ship.

Start the fire Valen said.

For the ten days all you could hear was the sound of the forge. The waterwheel turned slowly its axles creaking under the weight of the ice. The teams worked in shifts to keep the iron hot. Valen worked with the teams getting used to the physical labor of hitting the hot titanium with a heavy sledge. It was different from the work he used to do in the city. It made him feel like he was really doing something.

Noa supervised the construction of the frame of the ship on a temporary dock near the water. She worked with the carpenters making sure every part of the frame was perfectly aligned. She had changed her clothes. Now wore simple practical clothing like the people who lived in the delta. She tied her hair back with a piece of leather to keep it out of her face while she worked.

Mara kept watch from the ridges using mirrors to communicate with the town. The mountain was quiet its peaks covered in snow.. The strange vibration in the ground had not come back. Everything was still.

By the middle of the week the first iron plates were ready to be put on the ship. They were dark and rough. They were strong and perfectly curved to fit the wooden frame. Gar himself put the iron bolt into the metal and the wood making a loud clear sound that everyone could hear.

They named the ship the Long Record. It was a name, chosen by the people who built the ship.

The day of the launch arrived. The river was frozen, except for a channel in the middle that the people had kept clear. Everyone gathered on the dock their faces pale in the morning light. Valen stood on the ship his hand on the steering pole he had made himself. Noa stood beside him her telescope tied to her belt.

Are you sure the ship will be okay? Mara asked from the dock. The ice is very thick. If the ship does not break through it will get stuck on the rocks.

The ship will be fine Valen said, looking at the channel. The weight is. The iron is strong. Let the ship go Mara.

The ropes were. The ship slid away from the dock its dark hull cutting through the ice with a low grinding sound. The current caught the ship pulling it toward the center of the channel. Valen turned the steering pole feeling the resistance of the water. He had to pay attention and use all his strength to keep the ship on course.

The ship picked up speed as it approached the mouth of the river. Ahead of them a wall of ice stretched across the channel blocking their way to the sea. It looked like a wall of stone but Valen was not afraid.

Hold on Valen said, his grip on the steering pole tightening.

The ship hit the ice at speed. The sound was like thunder echoing off the cliffs. The titanium bow did not break; it cut through the ice splitting it into two pieces that rose up and then shattered into smaller fragments. The ship shuddered, its frame creaking under the pressure but it kept moving forward its iron sides grinding past the jagged edges of the ice.

Then suddenly the ship was in the water of the bay. The sea was vast and wild with waves that lifted the ship up and down. The wind hit them with a force filling the sail and sending the ship surging forward into the gray mist.

Valen looked back at the shore. The delta settlement was small in the distance its fires looking like sparks in the dark light. The mountain rose behind it a peak that no longer seemed so powerful.

We are out Noa said, her hand on the steering pole. Her face was red, from the wind her eyes shining with excitement.

Where are we going? Valen asked, pointing to the compass.

To the place Noa said. The one that has not spoken yet.

They turned the ship into the wind its iron bow cutting through the waves as they began their journey. The road was long the future was unknown. The frontier was waiting.

The journey continued. Valen was ready. He took a step. Then another and the world was finally his.