Chapter 31 - Across the expanse (2)

Rios's brow had creased at the sight of Faye, but his expression had relaxed at Sloan's words. Although her presence had certainly not been accounted for in the previous travel plans, the fact that Sloan had welcomed her seemed to solve the problem for him, seeing how his expression had immediately relaxed at Sloan's words.

<<As Mr Sloan here has just explained, he will make sure your transfer from the Gamma to the Alpha Perimeter will be carried out in complete safety. Mr. Sloan has been guarding our border for many years and there have been no "incidents" since he has been here, so I recommend you show him the proper respect. Now, I leave you in his reliable hands>>, Rios said, proceeding to climb into the car in which Faye and I had arrived and quickly disappearing, driving off into the horizon.

According to Rios' words, which were technically correct, what were colloquially referred to as "accidents" and whose more correct name was "stampedes" were prevented by the action of this Marcel Sloan. On the other hand, according to what Marnie had explained to me, stampedes hadn't really happened in the last few years.

In any case, if there really was a stampede, I doubted he would go out of his way to protect the Perimeter. After all, his real role was probably that of a spy for his Household here.

<<Well, my friends. It would be wise to get going: the Sun is still high, but the road ahead is long. Reaching the Way before the night arrives would make the journey easier>>, Sloan said, motioning us to approach the vehicle that was parked behind him.

It was large, a little bit smaller than a minibus, with four heavy wheels and the shape of a parallelepiped. It was not simple to distinguish the front from the back at first sight, since the entire surface was covered by the same uniform metal alloy which probably constituted also the bulk of the structure.

Overall it appeared to be some kind of a mix between a wagon, a cold room and an armoured car. A metal platform, seemingly intended as a passenger seat, protruded from the front and from under it three chains welded crudely to the vehicle surface stuck out. At the back there appeared to be something akin to a hermetically sealed door.

<<Ah, I guess this is something new to you two. This is a "wagon". It might just look like a big box, but it's a necessity when you get out there>>, Sloan said, pointing to the wasteland beyond the Perimeter line.

His explanation wasn't needed, as I already knew about this vehicle. The "wagon", also called a "refractory carrier", was a staple of this world. Outside the Perimeters, any resources would be eroded by mana, especially food. The only (partial) exception to this rule were materials that had been infused with ether, or "etherized". As a matter of fact, ether was a byproduct of mana found in nature which could be considered as some kind of "bunt" or "spent" mana. Being it already consumed, it was refractory to mana and for this reason, when combined with ordinary matter, it was able to make it resistant or impervious to mana and its corrosivity. Moreover, ether had the ability to improve an object's physico-chemical properties.

A "refractory carrier" was a vehicle built entirely of aetherized metal, built in layers which combined together to form a structure acting as a sort of directional filter, capable of almost completely blocking the entry of mana, at least in normal operation conditions, but still permitting its exit. This way it was possible to keep the internal environment isolated from the external one, and in the event that mana managed to penetrate inside the wagon, it would in time diffuse outside and so get expelled from the inside. Generally speaking the entrance of mana was linked to the opening of the hermetic door for the extraction of necessary provisions. Since the exposure to the external environment were usually of short duration, the small amount of mana able to get inside was quickly dispersed and the products remained mostly protected. Another key use of a wagon was as a refuge from light to medium mana storms.

The costs and production times of these devices were astronomically high, due to the complexity of the buildup and the need for high quantities of etherized metals; but every single group of serious travellers had at least one, as there was no alternative solution to transport food and products across the expanses that separated the Perimeters.

The only downside to these vehicles was that they were fully manual. After all, no layer of shielding could protect something as complicated as an engine from mana's natural tendency to attack and devour complexity. Even if it had been locked up in the inner chamber of the wagon, mana would be able to bypass the filtering walls, due to the strong attraction the artificiality of the device would exercise on mana.

Momentarily, Sloan and I exchanged a look. It didn't take me long to understand what his intentions were: in fact, his eyes had been moving between me and the chains for some time now. I would be the one driving the wagon across the lands during our journey.

I accepted without discussion, as I had already imagined this was the way it would end and as I did not consider the physical task particularly bothersome, particularly now that I had completed my second transition and my strength and stamina had vastly improved. And even if I did find it troublesome, someone had to pull the wagon: it certainly wouldn't be Sloan, and it certainly couldn't be Faye.

As I made my way to the chains, I heard him help Faye load the bags into the wagon and try to have a few words with her. She answered curtly to his questions, immediately nipping the conversation in the bud. When I reached the end of the three chains, I saw numerous large carabiners scattered on the ground.

I quickly understood their use. I lifted the chains and began to wrap them around my hips and shoulders, linking them to each other. In the end, I made something similar to a metallic robe, which included a sort of belt and braces. This way, while pulling the vehicle, the force would be distributed across the entirety of my upper body and I wouldn't have to rely solely on my grip to keep the chains from slipping out of my hands during traction.

I turned around and saw Faye with a smile plastered on her face. She was trying to mask her true mood. She was seemingly able to deceive Sloan, but to me her worry and weariness were evident. Although she had been doing an excellent job and although nobody could possibly perceive it, I was certain she had been suppressing the mana travelling inside and around her body for quite some time now. Mana density near the Perimeter outer boundary was not negligible and it required Faye to exercise a conscious effort to conceal her true nature from emerging due to mana resonance. She was beginning to realise that once she would get past the border marked by the pillars and into the outside world, she would no longer be able to maintain the illusion.

Fortunately, there was a solution, which had been discovered not long before. I stretched my right arm in her direction, extending my open hand towards her. Her expression betrayed some level of insecurity, but she seemed to have understood my intentions, as she began to approach me.

<<Miss, wouldn't it be better for you to take a seat next to me?>>, Sloan said, after having taken a seat on the protruding platform.

<<It's the first time she sets foot outside of the Perimeter. She needs some encouragement>>, I answered his words, trying to justify our actions.

Sloan's eyes narrowed and a hard-to-read expression appeared on his face, but he seemed to accept my explanation.

Finally Faye reached me and shyly handed me her left hand, which I squeezed tightly. The next instant, my heartbeat sped up and a heat emerged from the depths of my body, condensed and began to flow, ran up my right arm and reached Faye, diffusing inside of her.

Faye's cheeks flushed slightly, her fatigue seemed to disappear and her expression cleared. My aura would shield her from external mana, working like an insulant and keeping the two separate, while avoiding resonance. It would protect her from it and hide her identity, without her having to do anything about it. Etherized matter wasn't the only thing resistant to mana, a living body traversed by aura was no less. I was convinced that, as long as Faye accepted my aura, it would do its job marvellously.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a mixed expression of anger and delight appear on Sloan's face. The part of me urging me to keep an eye on him gained strength.

<<Do we have everything we need for the journey? Food? Water? Clothes?>>, I asked Sloan without letting my wariness transpire.

<<Do not fret my friend, we are as ready as we can be, I assure you>>, he answered with an amiable tone.

<<Then, let's go>>, I said, ending the short conversation. Although I doubted I could completely trust him, I had no other option at the moment.

My quads twitched and my legs pushed against the ground, and the wagon wheels creaked due to the sudden tug of the chains. Although the vehicle was quite massive, eventually I managed to put it into motion. In the meantime, I continued to hold Faye's hand, who was walking beside me.

Finally, we took the first step beyond the border and the outside world opened up to us.