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Eldren watched the tall, quiet elf scribble something down before shoving the papers at him. “Like this. The current model spell cannons you use risk breaking down after a few shots, but it’s easily changed with this.”
Eldren looked at the diagram. “Oh, I didn’t even consider that.”
Luca shifted, as if uncomfortable. “A magus can help the process with magic. It’ll be safer too. Once again, easily done.”
Eldren looked at the elf. “We can do that.”
Luca opened his mouth and closed it a few times. “Is Phaedra. . .” he trailed off. “Always like she is?”
Eldren laughed. “Phae is one of a kind. I’ve known her over half my life now, and she’s always been Phae. Nothing’s changed over the years in that regard.”
“I never knew many humans. The only ones I ever knew were with Aurelius. Not all of them were bad people,” Luca paused as something flitted over his face, “but it felt so hopeless. Until she came along.”
“That was my first experience with her, too.”
Luca took the papers back and scribbled a few more things. “This is one change I think would work for the new cartridges. It would add oomph to the explosion when they hit.”
Eldren jotted a few things down. “What about this?”
Luca shook his head no. “It would work, but be too unstable. This instead. . .” a few more notes, “would get what you’re thinking and it’s more stable too.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Eldren looked up to see Abraham walk in. “Got a moment?”
“What do you need?”
Abraham’s eyes flicked to Luca before going back to Eldren. “Did you ever repair that radio?”
“I’m almost done.” Eldren looked at Luca, who had a curious expression on his face.
Luca smiled slightly. “We were wondering if you recovered anything from Sanctuary.”
“It could help us if we get it up and running. We’re sending you all out to find the last Godstone anyway, and Simone still has it.”
“I can do that. When are we leaving?”
“As soon as Phaedra’s ready.”
“Alright.”
Abraham lingered at the door. “I suppose it’s too early to ask if you’ve had any luck.”
“We came up with a few things already,” Luca said.
Abraham visibly relaxed. “Good. Keep working. Maybe we can save Terra.”
Luca looked at Eldren, standing up. “We should get ready to go.”
***
Eldren worked on the radio as Luca lent a hand. Someone had fabricated new outer panels, which Eldren was thankful for, as he didn’t have the time with everything else going on. “I didn’t know you guys lost anything during the raid on Sanctuary until this arrived.”
Luca grunted. “Temple puts up more of a fight than I think you realize. Other Temples had fallen, but he’d put off going after Sanctuary because he figured your strongest defenses would be protecting it. Plus, your shielding is top-notch and hard to break through, which added an extra layer of difficulty.”
That news surprised Eldren, though it made sense given Temple’s history. “I had no idea.”
Luca made a noise. “Many people take Temple for granted. Humans are funny that way. They flock to your cities, with Temple rising above as a symbol of hope, but don’t stop to question why that is, or how it works.” He glanced at Eldren. “Temple has made amazing advancements regarding keeping its people safe, but they’ve always been selective about who they let into their walled cities and why. Though they do help keep the smaller communities safe, as much as Temple High Council will allow at any rate.”
Eldren paused, fingers dancing over the crystal he was holding as he prepared to check it for flaws. “I never thought of it in those terms.”
“Aurelius isn’t stupid. Arrogant, yes, to the point of madness. But not stupid. He has a reason for everything he does, whether he’s in control of those decisions or not.”
“What do you mean?”
Luca hesitated. “Aurelius isn’t the only person to worry about. His generals all have the same potential for incredible damage, as does his advisor Cristiano. And sometimes they hold a greater sway over him than he realizes.”
Something tugged at the back of Eldren’s mind, but he wasn’t sure what it all meant. Maybe he should run this by Phae. “How many generals does he have?”
“Enough that we need to be concerned, should Aurelius fall and no one is there to see it.”
“You make it seem like there is a plot to dethrone him.”
“Less that, and more that I don’t think he’s as in control as he likes to believe.”
Phae and Torin joined the two elves as Eldren was finishing up the repair work. “Any luck?”
“I think that’ll do it.” He put the tool he was holding down, replaced the front cover, and turned the radio on. Phaedra watched as the various lights started glowing, and a staticky sound came over the speaker. The sound of a connection popped and fizzled, and the white lights flashed red to green. She stared at Eldren, who picked up the receiver.
“I’m so glad to hear you all made it,” a voice said over the line. Eldren felt the floor drop out from under him.
Phae grabbed Torin’s hand, who had started to shake. With her other hand, she snatched the receiver. “Somehow I doubt you mean that, Cristiano.”
Laughter came over the radio. “You can believe whatever you like, but I’m so thankful you lived. I’m sure my prized student is there; after all, he follows you around like a lost puppy. I think you’d be much angrier if something had happened to him.”
Torin jerked his hand out of Phaedra’s grasp with a violent shake and stalked off, Luca following. Eldren watched Phae as her face hardened with everything Cristiano said.
“Stop baiting him and just tell us what you want.”
Cristiano laughed again; it was almost pleasant the way broken glass could sound, and just as dangerous. “Just come back to us. I can smooth things over with Aurelius if you promise to keep helping.”
It was Phaedra’s turn to laugh. “And why would any of us do that?”
“I don’t suppose appealing to your better nature will work here,” Cristiano mused.
Eldren put his hand over Phae’s before she could respond. “He’s sowing discord,” Eldren warned. “He’s trying to rattle you.”
“Phaedra, dear, did you walk away? It would be such a shame if you gave up that easily.”
“I’m not giving up until you and everyone else are dead and gone,” Phae said.
Eldren threw his hands up in the air as Cristiano laughed.
“Your bravado is admirable. Such a shame you’ve chosen the path you have.”
“Like hell I’m following you.”
“If that’s the hill you wish to die on, so be it. Take care, Phaedra dear. I’d hate for you to let your compatriots down. Especially dear, sweet Torin.”
Phae hit the button to speak again, but the lights on the radio went from green to red. She swore, slamming the receiver back into the cradle.
“Well, we got it working,” Eldren said. “One less thing to worry about, I suppose.”
Phae harrumphed. “We don’t have to worry about the radio, no, but I don’t think this is any better.” She stalked off, and Eldren sat down.
Eldren shook his head and went to switch off the radio when he heard something. He looked up to see Luca standing there. “Need something?”
“Cristiano is the one you really have to worry about,” Luca said. “Even before Torin entered the picture, he was a nightmare to deal with. After, however, it was like Cristiano was on top of the world when Torin came to serve under Aurelius.”
Eldren looked out the doorway, but didn’t see either Torin or Phae. “What do you mean?”
“Torin doesn’t talk about the past much, or much of anything. His survival strategy was to keep his head down and try to get through all of it. Well, almost.” Something heavy settled on Luca’s shoulders, an expression of regret crossing his face. “Much like Phaedra, Torin showed up fighting. But he was broken. All those promises made, and he couldn’t break Aurelius’s hold on us.” Something deeper than regret crossed his face for a moment, there and gone too fast to be sure.
“I’m glad you two survived.”
“I don’t think I’d call it ‘surviving.’ Survival has a cost, and we all paid the price. Some of the men came to Aurelius evil, some of them he corrupted. The rest of us? We all paid dearly.” Luca looked down at his interlaced hands. “We made it out, but I wouldn’t say we survived.”
