Well, it has been about a day since my last log. I am making this log to describe the damage to my formations. I had wanted to land the ship immediately and start work on the repairs. I could not take that risk, though (even if I wanted to, Trevor would not accept it.). After all, we still don't know what happened to the two ships behind us.
For all I know they can attack us at this very moment. Well, there is no use thinking about it. After all, I can't delay this work anymore. I will have to do these repairs even if the enemy begins attacking us at this very moment. The battle has really managed to screw up my ship. Even now I am not sure if I will be able to repair this much damage.
There are two main formations that I need to focus on right now. The first is the sensory formation. It is the formation that took the most damage from the burning debris. I guess I should be thankful. Most of the ship was burning and only the sensory formations got any real damage from the fire. If any more formations had gotten damaged, things would have been significantly harder to deal with.
I an not too worried about the sensory formation. I can still use it even if it has lost most of its range. Until I fix it, I will need a bucket at my side. I don't know when I will puke if I keep using the sensory formations as they are now.
Right now, the propulsion formation is the thing I need to focus on. The problem is that it has begun to fail catastrophically. This time, I do not know how to fix it. I might be able to extend its functioning for a bit longer, but that is the limit of my ability.
It is failing at a fundamental level. To explain that, I would first need to explain how exactly a propulsion formation works. (To be more precise, a mana stone propulsion formation.) The formation is a spell inscribed into the formation core. When mana from a mana stone is redirected into formation core, the spell is cast. This is usually a spell capable of propelling the ship forward like fire stream. (Though a wind spell is more likely and safer.)
The material used for the core of this particular formation is a piece of sky bamboo. It is, as far as I can tell, inscribed with a wind spell. (I can't tell which exact spell, though.) While sky bamboo is pretty good at boosting the power of wind spells, it has no durability.
A propulsion formation has to run for weeks (even months sometimes.) That must mean that it must have mana running through it for all that time. The simplest way to put it is that the sky bamboo is burning. After the fight yesterday, I can physically see the runes of the spells inscribed into the core.
I have never actually seen this happen, but it means the formation core is failing. It is quite a risky endeavor to deal with a failing formation core. With the amount of mana passing through this material, you never know what will happen when it breaks.
It will most likely create a hurricane in the middle of the room. It is also just as likely to create a void in which none of us can take a breath. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, the environment formations of this ship will not be able to handle it.
The problem with the propulsion formation is that I cannot predict when it will fail. If it were to do that when I am sleeping, we would all crash to the ground. With how busted the suspension formations are, this will destroy the ship. As for the worst case, I don't even want to think about it. Let's just leave it at it is not going to be pretty.
Well, the only real option that I have left is to change the core of the formation. Changing the core would essentially be creating a new formation. If I get a material that can act as the core of the new propulsion formation. I will still have to inscribe the formation. I will be able to do it, but it is going to take time.
Other than that, the only thing I can do is to modify the runes. This will reduce the strain on the core, which I hope is enough for me to keep this thing flying for a bit longer. If I were to do it, though, our speed would only be roughly sixty percent of what it is now. On top of that, it is only a stopgap measure, not dealing with the actual issue at hand. The formation will still fail. I am just changing the when.
Well, I am sure that you are wondering how exactly I ended up with such a crappy ship. Well, there is not much behind the story. The ship that we are traveling in right now is considered to be the top of the line ship belonging to the Snowwind Empire. It was a gift given to the Guard Corps as a gesture of goodwill.
You see, the Snowwinders are violent folks. They are the only participants of the Hexmountain treaty to actively begin wars on their own. That is why nobody is willing to provide them with advanced formation designs. (used to make things like airships) That would be like feeding a drake and then wondering why you don't have an arm.
This ship that I am in is supposed to be the most advanced airship that they can build. (They might have the materials to make such ships, but they certainly don't have the designs for it.) The head office also hoped that it would make them less likely to attack us. After all, this ship is flying under the flag of the Snowwind family. Anybody attacking this ship would have insulted the Snowwind family. Entire family's have been murdered for lesser slights in this land.
I agreed to this ship like an idiot. Well, it sounded so reasonable when they put it in that way. They had forgotten to mention just how useless this ship actually was. (They didn't even let me keep the cannons. They thought it might trigger the Snowwinders into action.) I have had to spend most of the last month making sure that no formation in this room will suddenly explode on my face. (I can't say that I have made much progress on this front.)
I don't even know how useful the flag is. We have been attacked ever since we entered their land. They certainly see us as idiots. Not even the Snowwind family themselves would use this ship. We have been barely making any progress. With a better ship, we would have already reached the Frozen Peak about half a month ago.
That reminds me, I should go and inform Trevor about this development. I will have to modify the ship and for that I need his "advise". (Better to call it permission.) I will need to get it soon, too. The quickers I modify the runes, the longer the formation will last, after all.
(After about five minutes.)
I am standing outside Trevor's quarters right now, which is also his office. Entering the room is an experience. To paint a scene, Trevor's room has a bed to the side. I have never seen it used. His table, though, is the exact opposite, full of papers and documents. I am surprised it has not broken yet under the weight. He is always sitting there, doing whatever he does. All I know about his work is that it involves a lot of signing. I do not know what it is, and I do not dare ask. All I know about the man is that he is supposed to be very important.
For one thing, the man has a higher security clearance than me. To be honest, that in itself is not too weird. My clearance tends to be on the lower side anyway. (Let's just say I lack certain knowledge that everybody has.)
The weirder thing is that I cannot figure out what exactly the man does. I have asked everybody that I know (which is a considerable list.) and I still don't know which faction the man belongs to exactly. (Let alone what he does.)
"Trevor, I have come to speak to you," I speak, looking at the man in front of me.
"Well, captain. It is a surprise to see you here," he replies, still signing away.
"What can I do? It is not like you would heed my summons anyway. Regardless, we have important matters to discuss," I speak, taking one of the seats. "Firstly, where are Andrew and Jacob?"
"They are in the heart, fixing the damage from your fight at the heart," The man replies. "I am sure that you realise, Andrew and Jacob have been provided to you so that they can fight your enemies for you, not to be your carpenters. There was no actually need for you to go and attack those boarders."
"I was just not really confident that that they would hold against the enemy. They were clearly desperate to attack us," I reply. "Those two are Sworn. They would have panicked unnecessarily."
"I know that the Sworn don't see much combat due to the Hexmountain treaty, kid. That doesn't mean that you try to do everything on your own. Let them fight their own battles," The man replies. "How else will they gain experience if not by actually fighting the enemy?"
"Well, have they complained to you about this," I reply, a twinge of irritation in my voice. The Sworn are unnecessarily sensitive about that.
"They don't need to, kid," The man replies. "I have seen your interaction with them. You treat the two of them as if they don't know how to use their weapons."
"Well, I still command them, Trevor. I will place them in whichever position is fitting for them. If they haven't spoken anything about it, leave it," I reply. "We have more pressing worries. We need to figure out what needs to be done regarding the ship. I have already told you about how it is sinking."
"Well, you are the expert. I am sure you have some solution ready already," he replies.
"I believe the formation core would burn out in a couple of days at the minimum and a week at the maximum," I speak, trying to emphasize to the man the gravity of our situation. "I can tweak the formation to make it more stable, but it will cost us speed."
"Well, how much time would we take to reach the Frozen Peak, and how much time will the formation last then?" He asks, an exasperated look on his face.
"I think that it takes a fortnight to reach the Frozen Peak if I were to modify it this way. The formation will last a month or even two, though it is still going to be risky. I will need to monitor it constantly," I say.
"I don't see the issue then. Do it," He replies.
"We are presently being chased by enemies. Do you really want to risk slowing the ship now?" I reply.
"There is no need to worry about those two ships. We have reached the territory of the Frozen Peak. They will not dare to attack us now," The man replies. "Honestly, I think it is unlikely that we will be attacked by anybody from now on."
"How can you know that for certain?" I counter. "I would say the best option is to go on the offensive."
"The two ships are unlikely to attack us. There is no need for us to go looking for them. Don't push them to desperation now. They will attack you till their death if they get desperate enough," The man replies, a rare energy in his words. "Don't forget the tale of the Dragonsword now."
How am I supposed to answer that now.
"Still, I am not comfortable. This is supposed to be a very desolate area. Just how many troops can the Frozen Peak even have? Will they be able to spare any to come this far?" I ask.
"Well, it is not as desolate as you assume it to be, captain. The Frozen Peak has at the very least ten thousand mages," replies Trevor. There is a resoluteness to his voice that makes it clear that he doesn't want to speak anymore on this. "The Snowwinders have a very strong presence in this area. I will not be surprised if our escort is making it here even as we speak."
Saying that Trevor returns to his work as if I am not there. I quietly slip away from the room, wondering why exactly I am so nervous around the man.