29. FOR VALE & THE WORLD!

  The evening light faded from the horizon as I watched out the dusty window.

  Wood popped and spit in the old fireplace in the pub’s far corner. Some of the men smoked well-used corncob pipes as they ate and whispered amongst themselves, the sweet smoke of the cheap, local roughshod tobacco, creating a smoky atmosphere in the large room. Patrons talked animatedly after a day’s work, the smell of sweat and alcohol and pipe smoke, mixing with the heavy and welcome smell of meat smoking in the back.

  After Uof’s announcement two weeks before, many of the residents of Vale started hunting for rebels and mages. We'd already lost a number of bolt holes, hideaways, tunnels, and secret passages.

  Soldiers took all suspected rebels to one of their prisons immediately, and they'd slowly started to whittle our numbers down. Reportedly the prisons overflowed, though we knew the majority of the inhabitants weren’t actually rebels at all. Public opinion in Vale seemed to be split on this overall, divided roughly by whether or not you knew someone who had been taken.

  Willow was still recovering while Ehren was nearly recovered himself, and more than half our numbers now sheltered outside the city in our small, makeshift desert outpost. Others of the resistance hid in plain sight, running their small stores or restaurants while helping us as best they could. Dirk himself couldn't risk that, so he stayed out of the city full time.

  Weeks after Uof’s big announcement and my own revealing stunt, both of which had been the talk of Vale ever since, we were desperate to share what we knew.

  “Citizens of Vale, “ Bend started, standing up in the middle of the pub—which was packed wall to wall with people. “I need to tell you a story.”

  The room hushed. Some folks looked up quickly, keeping their heads low. Bend wore a long cloak with a dark hood over his head, his face largely in shadow as he spoke. I watched him from a small area on the second level above the main dining room, my features hidden within the dirty cloak of a simple tradesman.

  Bend cleared his throat.

  “Uof showed himself for the first time in a decade two weeks ago," Bend said, his voice projecting out into the pub. "Soon after, a small group of us discovered the secret of how his motorized weapons and tools actually work. Now that Uof is offering extended life to you, the citizens of Vale, this should be a secret no longer. The truth could shorten your very lives.”

  The patrons exchanged nervous looks amongst themselves. However, no one wanted to show allegiance to the rebellion in public, but at least they listened and no one tried to stop him.

  “Weer created the first hybrid tools and weapons over six decades ago,” Bend continued. “His weapons and tools made life easier, they helped our forefathers simplify farming, build houses, and make bricks. He later applied his steam-powered creation to weapons and transportation. Life seemed to get better, easier, and safer. The land prospered and water was plentiful.”

  Bend glanced behind him, then around the room so as not to alert anyone.

  Greer sat near the door of the small pub, a drink in front of him, blending in. Shade sat at the bar, smiling openly at a man sitting on a stool next to her. He'd been trying to make conversation with her since we got there. One of Dirk's soldiers stood in the back of the room, near the back exit. I pretended to listen in from the second floor seating area of the pub while I studied the room.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Uof was born late in Weer’s life,” Bend said to the room. Everyone was paying close attention now. “By that time, the hybrid tools and weapons spread around the world. Weer’s inventions were sought after items in all the villages near Vale. Traveling merchants took them far and wide and Vale became a hub for trade. Weer grew rich, the people chose him to lead Vale, and the city prospered. Uof helped his father, and when he was old enough, he began lead the effort to manufacture more weapons and tools. He trained an army to protect the city and the ideas of The Motorized went further.”

  Bend looked around the room. It was quieter than before and every person seemed to sit on edge, waiting. They didn’t know where Bend was going with this tidy little history of Vale.

  “Weer’s army created their own law, he named himself King, and the legend of Vale grew. The Motorized amassed great power. They hired lords to rule over villages, towns, and cities all over the world and this brought more business but also a kind of oppression. Many of these places bowed the knee to Weer and paid homage to Vale, oppressing their people in the name of Weer. As Weer grew old, then Uof took his place.”

  He looked down for a moment and the silence was nearly palpable.

  “However, there was a rock in Uof’s boot,” Bend said, softer now. Some folks put down forks, and mugs of ale, leaning in slightly. “At some point in the transition from Weer to Uof, they singled out a group who stood up against their petty lords and dictators. The mages of The Way did not go idly along with the new rule of law spreading the world. For decades, we thought that The Motorized had simply begun to exterminate the mages of The Way, resulting in the situation we face today with very few left. We were wrong.”

  Bend looked around the room for a moment. He was about to lay our cards on the table for these strangers, and they would likely want to turn him in for the rewards or longer life, estates, wells, and water rights. But he seemed to be holding their attention.

  “Weer and Uof captured the world’s mages and all those that they didn’t kill were brought here as slaves. To Vale. While they were condemning the use of the old magics, they were using the old way itself to create more hybrid, motorized weapons. Even worse, and you must hear this: the single spell that powers each and every steam-powered weapon on this planet, does it by drawing water out of the atmosphere and sending it away. The result is disastrous: our planet has turned into a desert. You can see it all around us. The oceans are no longer healthy for living things—those oceans that are left. Our planet is dying. We need to stop the use of these steam-powered tools and destroy them or we risk the death of more of our neighbors, friends, and family. The rebellion Uof described isn’t just a rebellion. We’re actually trying to save Vale—the very place you live because Uof is killing the world we all live in.”

  When Bend stopped talking, no one in the room moved or breathed. He took a deep breath. He looked around the pub for a moment, almost as if inviting questions.

  “If Uof is killing the world,” someone shouted, “Then how do we save it?”

  “This is the question we’ve been wrestling with for weeks,” Bend replied. “First, we’ve started collecting all The Motorized tools and weapons we can find. We need your help to destroy as many of them as we can. You can destroy them yourself. Second, you must help us share this truth with everyone you know. Finally, you can join us. Join the fight to save Vale, the fight to save the rest of the world. Know this: If you decide to join us, we will test you because we’ve been betrayed by Uof’s spies many times, but if you care about your friends and your family, this fight will be worth it.”

  Slowly, Bend stepped down and moved to the back of the room.

  “For Vale, and the World!” Bend shouted, stepping out the back door.

  Then he slipped out the back door and was gone, the solider following right behind him. His route back had been choreographed carefully, and each of us stayed behind in the pub to make sure that no one followed him.

  Then, after several minutes, we each slipped out separately.