7

Toil, Danger, and Despair

A loud clanging noise interrupted their conversation abruptly. Kelwarin jumped to his feet and looked around quickly in the hope of spotting whoever had made such a terrible racket. But apart from a couple of other people running by, nothing was happening.

"What was that?" he asked, turning toward Tallulah.

She shrugged, not looking particularly concerned. "I'm not sure. Probably nothing at all," she mused, "it's probably just an echo somewhere nearby. Or maybe one of those machines malfunctioning again." She glanced sideways at him, narrowing her gaze slightly. "Unless I'm mistaken, I think you're worried."

He glared at her. She was clearly teasing him, yet he couldn't resist getting angry. "Why shouldn't I be? We're stuck in a place called Tarsis, surrounded by Imperials!"

"You've done it before. Besides, you're just as good as me," she added, giving him a mischievous grin.

Before Kelwarin could reply, the clanging noise rang out once more. He spun around instantly, scanning the surrounding area nervously as he tried his best to detect what was causing the noise.

"There!" Tallulah exclaimed excitedly.

He turned toward her, confused.

"Over there," she continued, pointing a finger at a large machine that appeared to have broken loose from its position and landed a few meters away from them. It resembled a cannon, except that instead of guns, it was constructed using large metal plates, each covered in spikes.

Kelwarin felt his pulse quicken considerably as he approached the device cautiously. "Are these Imperial weapons? What if they're a trap?"

"They won't hurt you, Kel," Tallulah assured him reassuringly.

"Who said anything about them hurting me? They could even kill me!" He countered.

"Relax. They aren't going to attack anyone here. Now move." She ordered.

Kelwarin obeyed her order immediately, jumping up onto the cannon and placing both hands on the metal plate. "What if I fall?" He wondered aloud. "Or crash into it?"

"You'll be fine. And they won't shoot if you're on top of it."

"Then why am I supposed to move on top of it?"

Her lips tugged upwards in amusement. "Because they won't shoot if you're on top of it."

Kelwarin groaned loudly. "This will take forever…"

"Just relax," she repeated, taking hold of one of the metal plates underneath him as he attempted to remove his weight from it. "Once you get on top of the cannon, just pull yourself up and then we'll start working our way towards the outpost."

Kelwarin paused for a moment, his eyes flicking back and forth between the cannon and Tallulah nervously. He then sighed deeply. "Fine, alright. Let's go already."

Tallulah gave him a wide smile as she grabbed hold of another metal plate beneath him, beginning to climb up the cannon after him.

"How come you're so confident in me?" he asked as he reached the edge of the weapon, where he began to lower himself carefully downwards. He found himself leaning forward against one of the spikes on top of the gun, trying his best to keep his balance. As soon as he did so, however, he lost his balance, crashing painfully onto the ground below, causing a cloud of dust to billow in his direction. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs momentarily as he lay helplessly on the ground staring up at the sky, coughing up a storm, and then he heard a familiar sound, causing him to lift his head and blink furiously in the hopes of clearing his vision enough to see what happened next. As he watched, a massive pair of wings extended out of the top of the metal structure which held the cannon upright.

After a brief pause, however