CHAPTER 12: In the Hands of the Enemy - Part 2

  Neuvane's cabin was at the stern. He could burst in, but before his hand reached the door handle, the Wraiths would without a doubt have his throat gaping like a crocodile awaiting prey.

  The breakfast bell rang, waking the sailors. Grumbling, they lined up to relieve themselves. Those who could not wait did so over the deck railings. In truth, anywhere was permissible as long as whatever came out of their bodies fell into the sea.

  The kitchen crew emerged from the galley with a sack of bread and distributed it. A sailor wiped his hands on his trousers after urinating and accepted the bread. They sat and ate right there.

  The ration emphasized practicality. They gave him a bread bowl twice the size of his fists. When the top slice was removed, steaming chunks of salt pork, dried spinach, and peas were revealed. Leftover soup from last night was poured in to soften the bread's texture.

  The bread was large but insufficient to sate his hunger. In fact, nowadays, he always felt hungry after eating. The galley crew brought a rum barrel to the deck, and a new line formed for the daily rum ration.

  After breakfast, the deckhands began their routine tasks.

  “Boy! Return this barrel to the galley!”

  “Boy! Tighten that rope!”

  “Boy! Help me sew this sail!”

  Eiran sighed. Even here, he was still called 'boy' due to his stature. Yet, he felt the average Terzionite sailors was smaller. In the Isofean unit, he was the smallest, but here he was average-sized. However, he had no time to ponder this as his next task arrived.

  “Boy! Go down and clean the Mana Cradle!”

  The Mana Cradles lined both sides of the lower deck, each resting on a specially designed wooden structure as high as a gunport. The Mana Cradle is a spherical container for Mana, as large as an adult's embrace. Such vessels were necessary for casting colossal spells, a spell cast by more than one Mana Decima to achieve stronger attacks, farther reach, and more.

  A type of iron helmet with a visor protected the Mana Cradle, much like a shell safeguarding its pearl. Eiran opened it with deliberate care, knowing the Mana Cradle was fragile, and began to clean it. Every living being has a Prana curtain impenetrable by Mana arm. Therefore, if the Mana Cradle gets covered in moss, Decimae will struggle to extend Mana into it.

  In the era before the Chaos Era Two, gunpowder cannons were used alongside Mana Cradles. Now, gunpowder cannons are almost obsolete, though the gunpowder is still used in a limited way. The reason is practicality; after the destruction of the Chaos Era Two, rebuilding the infrastructure and expertise to produce gunpowder cannons required a large investment better diverted to Mana Cradles.

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  Mana Cradles, despite their vulnerabilities, are lighter and easier to move than cannons. They have no recoil, are more versatile as they serve offensive, defensive, and supportive roles such as ship propulsion and water distillation in emergencies.

  On the Ira Vith's gundeck, alternating with the Mana Cradles, were also Artifica cannons. He was not sure if 'cannon' was the right term, but he was certain about the 'Artifica' part because these weapons had distinctive features like cables, self-moving parts, lights, and others that made them 'Artifica.'

  Operators guarded them at all times, not allowing anyone to approach. Yet being so close to a weapon that almost caused an apocalypse and was now the most forbidden item gave him an eerie feeling.

  Even during the midday break, he could not rest. He shaved the deckhands' hair on the quarterdeck, and the line was long. It all started by chance. On the first day, someone asked him to cut his hair because his partner had broken an arm. Eiran surprised himself with his dexterity in handling the shears. Before he knew it, he had a queue.

  “Next,” Eiran turned and called out. He was puzzled, the line that had been long moments ago had disappeared. Even the person in front of him had slipped away. It did not take him long to find out why.

  Neuvane ascended the stairs to the quarterdeck. The wind played with his dark brown hair. He sat on the small stool in front of him, eyes gazing at the foam left by the Ira Vith. “Ensure a tidy appearance.”

  Eiran froze for a moment before draping a cloak over him. Even though it covered his attire, the tattered cloak could not hide Neuvane's demeanor.

  His index and middle fingers held the tips of Neuvane's hair, and the shears in his other hand trimmed it. He tried his best not to cut his own fingers. This was an unexpected opportunity. He could just thrust the shears into the base of his neck, twist them, and be done with it.

  “Trivial, is it not?”

  “I beg your pardon, Your Excellency?”

  “Neutralizing me. You could thrust your shear into anywhere in my cervical region and it would be near impossible to miss major arteries or veins. Thrust with open shear to optimize tissue damage. Add simple twist to introduce air bubbles into my bloodstream and verify the result. It was the trivial solution, was it not?”

  Those words sent his mind into turmoil. His shears movements froze. Not wanting to remain motionless for too long, Eiran pretended not to hear and continued cutting.

  “Do you know the reason why the captain's cabin is at the aft? Because of the aft wind. The cabin is at the aft; therefore, we do not have to endure the stench from the rest of the ship. This was not the case when the Artifica engine was used as the propulsion system. The ship designs were entirely different then, and the captain's cabin was at the fore.”

  “Certainly, Your Excellency. Indeed.” Eiran's thoughts were in such disarray that he sometimes found himself just cutting the air. Was his disguise uncovered, or was Neuvane just making conversation?

  After a moment of silence, Neuvane spoke again, “Do you know who I am?”

  “Certainly, Your Excellency. You are Neuvane Krio.” He felt that pretending to focus on cutting hair was the safest course of action.

  “Then, do you understand who I am?”

  Eiran answered that he was the chief researcher of Terzion’s Artifica. That his role was irreplaceable. He was also the only person in the present era worthy of the title Artificer.

  “Many have come to the conclusion that neutralizing me would terminate Terzion’s Artifica project. However, that is only a partial solution. The Emperor is no fool; he trains his own Artificers, and they are on the verge of operating without my supervision. My expertise is not as irreplaceable as it once was.”

  “Certainly not, Your Excellency. Your services–”

  Neuvane pointed to his sideburns. “Shave it all off. Continue with your story.”