The hot desert wind mixed the sand and blew not against the body of a no-longer-young, dark-skinned man, but against a tanned youth who, like his teacher once had, sat atop a train. But this was no longer the iron beast that had carried the professor to the Kingdom of Crow, but a different one, serving as a hearse.
From his vantage point, Caspar could already see the small houses of Starhorod, which differed from Novgorod in that almost all of its life was not in the upper part of the city, but underground. Soon he would deliver Munib's broken body home, where he would be buried next to his father. The lad regretted only one thing: that he had failed to convince Abid to return the Mu-6 to their homeland. Now, as he had learned from the same old man, they had been given to the professor's murderers. This made the boy feel anger towards the stupid princess who had so carelessly given away the great relic and legacy of the deceased Munib.
The young man exhaled, releasing his accumulated anger into nowhere, then lay down on the train's roof, gazing at the blue sky, which showed no hint of a single cloud. This made the scorching sun's rays feel even stronger. In that pure blueness, the young man saw echoes of the sea the professor had dreamed of. Thinking about this, Caspar was nonetheless glad that one of the professor's wishes had been fulfilled, even if posthumously. It would have been worse if he had died without ever seeing it.
A loud whistle sounded, announcing to the entire train crew that the self-propelled machine was about to arrive at its station—the Free City of Starhorod. Caspar rose from the iron beast's roof, watching as the train slowly stopped near a small building that served as a local warehouse.
When the train came to a complete halt, the young man jumped onto the sand, which immediately rippled away from his feet. Caspar touched the iron shell of the train in farewell and moved towards the city. His journey was complete, and now he could begin his travels anew, but without Munib, in whom he had seen the shadow of a father he had so lacked. He knew Professor Abid would be able to deliver his colleague's dead body, so he didn't bid him farewell again. Now all that remained was to find a new goal for his long journey. Perhaps he should head to the despised Desert Empire? Yes, their rulers had killed his friend, but was the common people, people like Caspar himself, to blame? Besides, the young man understood he was unlikely to meet any high-ranking officials on the street and be able to avenge them. But to see that country, he probably would have liked to, for the thirst for adventure that beckoned him.
"Caspar!" a familiar elderly voice called out, stopping the lad on his way into the city. The young man turned and saw Abid hurrying towards him, sinking slightly into the surrounding sand.
"Yes, Professor?" Caspar asked in surprise, watching the old man approach, not understanding why he was needed.
"Where are you off to, my boy?" Abid asked, answering a question with a question, taking deep breaths through his mouth, also lightly wiping sweat from his brow.
"What do you mean, where? My journey with Professor Munib is over, and now I plan to continue traveling," the young man said, still surprised, continuing to look at the sweaty and tired old man.
"My boy, why are you in such a hurry?" the elderly man said, finally catching his breath. "I still have a small matter for you, if you're not against taking it on."
"What matter, Professor Abid?" the young man said gloomily, recalling how every time this old man had forbidden him from taking the Mu-6 from the warehouse in the Kingdom of Crow. He didn't think he'd get any use out of this grumbling professor, and he didn't want to help him with his "important" projects.
"What are we prattling on about here in the middle of sand, dust, and this accursed sun that burns my already decrepit flesh? Let's go down into the city, away from this inferno. I'll tell you everything there, and the lads here can manage for now," Abid said wearily, waving his hand towards his neck, apparently to get some flow of air.
Caspar merely nodded, taking a deep breath inwardly. It was unlikely the old man could offer him anything that might interest the young traveler, given their disagreements. Still, out of politeness, he agreed to follow him.
He followed the professor towards one of the low buildings. The entrance to this building was circular in shape, but now even the door that opened this strange passage was not visible. Behind it was an iron spiral staircase leading down into the underground tunnels of Starhorod. For Caspar, this moment was always thrilling when he descended these stairs, emerging into crowded and noisy tunnels filled with coolness and the humming sound of propellers. Abid walked straight through the crowd of people hurrying about their business, and the young man rushed after him, watching as ordinary people immediately parted before the professor, clearing his path. Some even showed respect, making deep bows, but in no way hindering the elderly man's progress. After a couple of minutes, they again reached a similar opening and descended another level. Here, too, it was crowded and noisy. They repeated the descent procedure five more times until they reached the seventh level down, and with each descent, there were fewer and fewer people. Caspar was surprised by this trend, as with Professor Munib he had only descended to the third level, where most of the laboratories were located. As far as the young man knew, the main research and technology searches began from the tenth level and deeper; all other levels were administrative. And now, together with Abid, they entered an office littered with blueprints of various devices. Overall, to Caspar, it was complete chaos.
"Oh, I should ask to have my office moved higher up; I've become too old to move back and forth like this," the old man quietly muttered under his breath, but Caspar heard him in the silence, broken only by the hum of propellers.
"So what do you need, esteemed professor?" the young man asked as politely as possible, watching as the man approached one of the walls, made some presses on it, then took two mugs and placed them under a small tap, sprinkling leaves from a jar that stood nearby. After a few minutes, the young man heard a click, and the old man turned a small lever. The young man saw water flowing into the mugs, emitting steam. Throughout this entire procedure, Abid was silent.
"Help yourself," the professor finally said, clearing the table of papers and leaving a mug of drink opposite Caspar. "It's tea. You can try it."
The young man looked at the drink, from which hot steam still rose, but didn't dare try it, waiting for it to cool slightly, unlike the professor, who immediately took a sip, a blissful smile spreading across his face.
"I've been dreaming of tasting this wonderful drink again for several months," the professor said, taking another sip. "Drink it while it's hot; it tastes better that way, warms the body, and stabilizes your body temperature so you won't feel so hot on the surface."
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The young man forced a slight smile at the old man's words but still took a sip of the hot drink, which burned its way down his throat, making him cough slightly.
"Easy, easy, my boy, don't rush so much," the professor smirked, observing Caspar's reaction. "Alright, let's get down to business. You see, child, we currently lack a skilled navigator like yourself."
"I don't understand," the young man finally replied after coughing.
"We need an airship navigator, and not just any navigator—its captain!" the old man exclaimed proudly, taking another sip.
"But I don't need that," Caspar replied wearily, not wanting to participate in some shady scheme of the old man. What had kept him here was no longer present, and this professor had already shown his disdain for Munib's technologies.
"Oh, no, no, no, young man, don't rush to refuse," the old man smirked again, placing his empty mug on the table. "This is a special journey that will inspire you, as a true romantic!"
"Professor, you..." Caspar began.
"Oh, no, no, no," the professor repeated, interrupting the young man. "Let me finish! You think I'm trying to play on your feelings? But that's not it, my boy; I simply want to give you the chance you've been dreaming of!"
"What chance have I been dreaming of?" the young man asked, remaining utterly bewildered by what was happening.
"To retrieve the Mu-6," Abid smiled, and Caspar fell into a slight stupor, staring at the professor in surprise.
"You want to attack the Desert Empire?" the young man asked quietly, but with undisguised aggression.
"What? No, of course not. The Empire doesn't need those pieces of junk; they're unlikely even to go and collect them. But we, on the other hand, will simply take back from the Kingdom of Crow everything we gave them," the professor replied, giving a sinister smile that made the young man's skin crawl.
"And what do you want to do?" Caspar asked just as quietly, posing another question.
"We need the train you and the professor delivered to the kingdom. I, of course, also know where it is located, but unfortunately, I'm too old to handle this," the old man said, observing his reaction.
*"You just don't want to leave this office any more than necessary,"* the young man thought to himself, but aloud he said:
"And why do you need me?"
"It's simple, my boy: you know how to pilot, you have a good sense of spatial orientation, and you know the approximate geography of the kingdom—we're unlikely to find a better candidate than you. And most importantly, you'll be able to reclaim Munib's legacy, just as you wanted," Abid smiled warmly. But Caspar felt that behind this smile, there was no kind old man, but a real snake. The young man understood he wasn't being told everything, but he also knew he would never learn it all.
"Is that why you didn't let me take the Mu-6?" Caspar asked, slightly angry.
"Don't start, Caspar. I already told you that we physically couldn't transport the Mu-6 to the city of Novgorod to then bring them to Starhorod by train," the old man waved dismissively, but for some reason, the young man didn't quite believe him.
"So you want me to attack my own homeland?" the young man asked angrily. Of course, he didn't love the kingdom after recent events, but his relatives still lived there, and he didn't want to involve them in anything terrible. Besides, his home was still there, from which, although he had left, he still hoped to return someday.
"Oh, no, what are you thinking, no!" Abid exclaimed emotionally. "I want you to captain the airship named after the late professor—'Munib'—and, as his faithful friend and follower, direct it towards the lands of the Kingdom of Crow to reclaim what the professor bestowed upon those ignoramuses, and they simply decided to discard his legacy. Better that we return what rightfully belongs to us."
*"So you want to ensure the Mu-6 don't fall into the Empire's hands,"* Caspar finally understood Abid's main thought.
"Alright, I still don't understand why you need me," the young man asked wearily. This whole situation seemed like some kind of farce. Perhaps this was why Munib hadn't liked Starhorod and had sought to leave it for his journey.
"Well, I told you, Caspar, what's the matter with you!" the old man said in surprise, slightly raising his voice. "You know the Kingdom well, and you just need to fly over it, escorting the airship to the Duchy of Storm."
"The Duchy of Storm?" Caspar asked bewilderedly, taking a sip of the now-cooled tea, noting its truly unusual taste.
"Exactly that!" the old man confirmed, watching the young man drink his tea. "You'll fly in from an unexpected direction, then enter the Duchy of Celestial, retrieve the train, and then fly to their kingdom's capital to take the Mu-6, demonstrating the full might of the Free Cities."
"But the Duchy of Storm has its Duke," Caspar said honestly, recalling the folk tales about the all-powerful warrior.
"What's one Duke who's only strong in myths and folk tales? No one has ever seen any of this, my boy, so it's time to refute their fairy tales with our real power. We won't fall for the tricks used to scare children," Abid smiled, looking directly at the young man.
"But it's not just..." Caspar began.
"My boy, it's just dust in the eyes, to create the illusion of the Duchy of Storm's invincibility, and once, the Kingdom of Storm's. The myths crumbled when Arthur I conquered them. There is no almighty Duke, and we've already been proven that. Now we'll simply enter through the weakest point in their kingdom and take what belongs to us, showing our technological superiority. These backward people won't even be able to resist an airship; we'll simply force them to surrender," the professor said, looking directly at Caspar's face. The young man pondered for a moment but then asked the question that interested him.
"Without unnecessary bloodshed?"
"Of course, my boy! Of course! We're not some savages to kill people for no reason. If they don't offer unnecessary resistance and simply agree to our demands, everything could go quietly and peacefully," Abid replied, and as it seemed to the young man, with utmost honesty. He too saw no reason for war. If they were just going to take back what was theirs and his homeland wouldn't suffer, then returning the professor's creation home would be an honor for him.
"I agree," Caspar said, not knowing whether he had made a contract with the Nameless God that would lead him to his grave or not, but still hoping for the best outcome.
"Well then, go now to the first level, and proceed to the first hangar, from where you and Munib took the train. You'll be met there and briefed on the matter," the professor said, sinking into his thoughts.
Caspar merely nodded at this and left the office, leaving the old man alone with his thoughts, hoping this would be a quick and simple mission, after which he would once again set off traveling and exploring the world.
When the young man left the office, the elderly man approached a strange device and picked it up, putting it to his ear, dialing a special set of numbers. The device called a "telephone," which one of the scientists of the Free City of Infgorod had obtained and restored, was kept under strict secrecy by all the Free Cities. It allowed scientists to communicate with each other almost instantly over long distances, as long as someone answered the call. Now Abid wanted to inform his colleagues that everything was going according to the plan proposed by the Duchess Blood, the elder Katerina, who had provided them with a guide to the Duchy of Storm in exchange for her independence. This intelligent woman appealed to him, and the old man fully understood her motives. But the council of supreme scientists of the Free Cities, of which Abid was also a member, had their own plans.
*"And after you, we will send an armada of airships from all the Free Cities to destroy this pathetic Kingdom of Crow, which dares to squander our technological treasures to appease the heretical Desert Empire, which only steals technology instead of extracting it with the effort we do. And let the stupid princess blame herself for her homeland being destroyed by the mighty force of science, which these fools never managed to comprehend,"* thought Professor Abid to himself, watching with satisfaction Caspar's decision, already contemplating what ultimatums they would issue to the Desert Empire to halt their technological development after the defeat of the Kingdom of Crow.
