Sightseeing

Chapter 14: Sightseeing

Silva

We wound through the city, more and more shops opening as we approached noon. Shaela offered to take me into each one, saying, “Even if we sign this treaty, you may never visit Ludenbruh again. Anything that catches your eye, let me know. I’ll send you home with a ship full of souvenirs if need be.” I turned her down time and time again, her mood souring just a bit more with each rejection, but when the sun approached its zenith, we found ourselves in the textiles and fashion district of Ludenbruh.

“I could do for some clothes.” I acquiesced to Shaela’s generosity. I was confident in my plan, but if she didn’t agree to go along with it, I might be here long enough to warrant more than three outfits.

“What are you looking for?” Shaela, whose face had previously been contorted into more and more extreme shapes as she tried to figure out what possibly could appeal to me, began listing all sorts of styles and brands, and shops that I could hardly parse.

“Shaela,” I interrupted her. I had finally gotten used to using her name after walking the city for half of a day, “I could use everyday clothes. These travel garments are heavy, and Ludenbruh’s weather is warmer than I expected.”

“Hmmm,” she eyed me, “well let’s go talk to some tailors. We can have it delivered to the estate.”

It was still more than I wanted, but I went along with it. I hoped to just buy some simple pants or a skirt, or a dress, that would be appropriate to wear while out and about in this weather. Instead, Shaela pulled me into shop after shop, where I would be measured and inspected by tailors who knew her by name. All the while trying to make sure my veil was in place, and that I, or we rather, weren’t imposing. In less than an hour, I had been measured for two pairs of pants, three skirts, four shirts to match, and two casual-formal dresses to wear at the estate. All of which would be on my bed in no more than a day’s time. I was suddenly exhausted. I had totally forgotten any of the things I wanted to see when I first scouted Ludenbruh.

“Shall we stop for lunch?” Shaela noticed that I was no longer keeping up with her long legs.

A nod was all I could muster.

We walked a short distance to a fancy-looking restaurant. Unlike others we had passed throughout the day, it had ornate metal chairs and glass top tables. It was early enough in the day that customers were sparse. We were seated quickly at a table that sat alongside a window. I stared out through it, watching Prydannian’s walk by, going about their day.

“Did you still want to see how crawlers are made?” Shaela asked, as we waited for a server.

“Oh,” I had forgotten about our discussion from yesterday, “yes, if there is time.”

“It’s a bit of a walk, but I think we’ll be fine. Especially since we don’t have to rush to the docks for an airship ride.”

“So you did cancel it?”

“Yes, I sent word right when I woke up. My parents had planned to take you to see all of our land, not just the city. We could always do it another day, I suppose, but it does make me curious what your request for this afternoon will be.”

“Who said we won’t get to tour them still. I made my way here, didn't I?” I figured it was time to start explaining.

“Oh, so we’re to use your airship then?”

“Exactly.”

“I’m excited to see where you’ve hidden it.” Shaela was skeptical, but I couldn’t reveal all here. Especially not while a server had moved to loom over us, ready to take our order. We each had a meat pie, mine mutton, and Shaela's beef. It was admittedly a better meal than our breakfast and provided the energy needed to get through the day. I let out a satisfied breath after my meal was finished, pretending not to notice the staff and other guests who had been watching me eat. Shaela was acutely aware of the onlookers, and after paying our tab, stood, extending her hand, both to escort me to our next destination, but also to further block me from view. “Ready?”

---

I was able to keep pace with Shaela as we walked towards the edge of the city. The air grew thick with smells of oil and fire, and the smattering of houses, shops, and restaurants turned into massive brick buildings with metal pipes breathing smoke and ash into the air. Industry: the word Shaela had used to describe the force that fueled Prydannia’s production of all things: airships, clothes, electricity, and crawlers. We didn’t have to venture far into the grime to reach our destination. The factory itself was hard to tell apart from the others if not for the large bay doors that nearly complete crawlers lingered in, awaiting a carriage or customer to take them away. We moved through a gate in a tall, iron fence, towards a wooden door on the outside of the building. It was unlocked, and we entered an office that had windows overlooking the factory’s interior. If the workers assembling the crawlers could see us, they paid us no mind, focusing solely on bolting or clamping wooden limbs together.

The office itself was a mess of scrap paper that we almost had to wade through. Shaela coughed loudly to announce our presence, “Excuse me!” I looked over her shoulder and saw a man whose head was glued to some drawing he was drafting. Shaela spoke again, “Excuse me!”

The man spun his chair around, at first seeming upset with the distraction. “Who are-- Ah! The young Crow has come to visit!” He sprang from his chair to his feet and took Shaela’s hand, shaking aggressively. His graphite-covered hands left prints on Shaela’s white gloves. “And who is this?” he moved past Shaela and took my hands. I was grateful once more for Viridia’s gift, as the gloves she gave me wouldn’t be stained by the enthusiasm of this engineer.

“This is Silva, representative of the Mistborn Witches.” I bowed in accompaniment with Shaela’s introduction. “She wanted to meet the inventor of the crawlers.”

“A Witch, you say! I had heard rumors but didn’t know what to make of them. Well, Miss Silva, it is a pleasure. What would you like to know about those silly little things?” The man pointed out the window at the unfinished crawlers. He spoke with an accent distinct from the other Prydannians.

“Silva, this is master engineer Galliard.” Shaela handled both sides of the introduction.

“The pleasure is mine. I was hoping to see a crawler more closely, and if you’re willing, for you to explain how the interlocking parts are able to move.”

“You ask so little of me!” The more he spoke, the more I could place his accent. It sounded Hesparian, but I wasn’t sure. “Very well. Come.” The three of us exited the office onto the factory floor, and then to the opposite side of the building to a smaller bay door. “This is one of my prototypes,” Galliard explained, “Let me show you how it works.” Galliard expounded upon concepts of inertia and gear ratios, words almost entirely foreign to me. He explained how the momentum of one leg pulled the next, interlocking leg forward, and so on. He pulled pieces off and placed them back, giving me as detailed a view as possible, and while his explanations began to give me a sense of how the machine operated, one question remained unanswered.

“What propels them in the first place?” I found a moment to cut in.

“The impulse drive, of course.”

“I’m not familiar.”

“This,” he pointed to a sphere at the center of the axle from which all the legs connected, “it's the same thing that propels any airship, just much smaller.”

“May I?” I extended an ungloved hand towards the device.

“Sure!”

I closed my eyes and touched the impulse drive. As soon as my fingers made contact, I could see what I had been hoping to see during that first carriage ride. Magic swirled in turbulent whirlpools inside the sphere. “Go ahead and move the legs a little, would you?” I asked, eyes still closed. As each leg moved, the turbulence broke free from its small container, whipping and whirling around me, around the crawler. “That’s enough, thank you.” The turbulence dissipated. “It’s a wonderful machine. I see why many called you a genius during that whole manure crisis.” Shaela snorted at my phrasing.

“Oh, they give me too much credit. You really must see House Jormung’s shipyards if you want to really understand Prydannia and her power.”

Shaela was looking out the bay door. “The sun looks to be setting soon, Silva.”

“Thank you so much, master Galliard.” I bowed once more to the eccentric engineer.

“Thank you for stopping by, Mistland Witch.” He bowed deeper.

“We must be going, I’ll visit again when I have time.” Shaela directed me out the bay door, back to the gate.

“Of course!” Galliard shouted and waved as we departed.

Time had slipped away from me. The sun hung low in the sky. It was time to see if Shaela would really indulge me.