The hot desert wind mixed the sand and blew against the already not-young, dark-skinned man dressed in a brown bisht, seated atop the roof of a train traversing the desert. The self-propelled machine left furrows in the sand behind it, but continued moving forward, leaving only a trail of smoke stretching from the chimney at the front, where the driver's cabin was approximately located.
Munib, for that was the professor's name seated upon this iron beast, stood up and walked with a confident gait towards the lead car, leaping confidently between the other cars. Inside them sat other scientists, as well as various livestock, all of which would later be needed to move this behemoth into the Kingdom of Crow. The man was one of those who could move calmly across the carriage roofs, despite the sand stinging from everywhere and the hot wind trying to knock him off the train.
When he reached the lead car, Munib descended with a certain grace into the driver's cabin, where a young lad, currently almost entirely covered in soot, was shoveling coal into the furnace. No sooner had the man distracted himself than the lad tossed in another portion of coal, and a wave of heat washed over the professor.
"Caspar!" Munib addressed the lad, watching as he closed the furnace and turned his gaze to the man.
"Professor Munib!" the lad exclaimed joyfully. He was also one of the train's drivers.
"How are things going here?" the professor asked, surveying the cabin. There was nothing remarkable about it, except perhaps for the wooden helm located directly at the train's control panel. As a man who had developed this beast, Munib knew that the helm was needed to steer the train when it was not on rails and was traversing the expanses of the desert. As soon as they reached Novgorod, they would dismantle it and other parts that made the train a self-propelled unit. Such technologies were not yet meant to fall into the hands of the Kingdom of Crow, as they hadn't paid for them. Besides, such a construction moved much worse on land than on sand.
"Everything is excellent, Professor! No quicksand or sandstorms are expected so far, according to the instruments!" Caspar replied, looking at the control panel. On one of them, there was indeed a glass with a black dot in the center, and occasionally red waves emanated across the glass, as if searching for something around that dot—this device was precisely for detecting quicksand and hollows beneath the sand, warning the driver of danger. On another part of the control panel, on a similar glass, a wind rose was depicted. Currently, it showed no signs of life, but if any part of it lit up with a red light, it indicated from which direction a sandstorm would approach. "And it's not much longer until our destination!"
"Those are good news, Caspar!" Munib replied joyfully, understanding that their journey would not be slowed down, and he would soon be in a place he had long dreamed of visiting. Despite the Kingdom of Crow being very technically backward compared to the Free Cities, it was not located in the middle of a hot desert, but where there were mountains that obscured the sky, vast forests where trees were the size of the train itself, or even an airship! And most importantly—the sea. More than anything, the professor wanted to see the sea, where water stretched beyond the horizon, impossible to embrace with either arms or sight. Probably, this immense amount of water had prompted the man to agree to leave his native city and embark on this journey. "How are you finding handling the train?"
"This is true masculine romance, Professor!" Caspar spoke as if reading the man's thoughts. "We race across this endless field of sand, with no end or edge in sight, and only the wind tickles our faces, making us gaze into the distance until we finally see the outlines of another city! The train rides smoothly, as if born for travel! Like, what do you call it?"
"The iron beast."
"Exactly! Like a faithful beast, leading us across this endless sea of sand."
Munib nodded contentedly. He liked this lad, who stood confidently at the helm of this machine, like a ship's captain leading his men to face maritime dangers. Of course, the dangers of the desert were just as dangerous and unpredictable as those of the sea, but in his thirty years of life, Munib had seen so much of this sand that, one could say, it made him a little nauseous. The professor dreamed of seeing the world beyond his enormous city, which, rumored, was the size of a small country, but contained nothing but houses and descents into mines. Of course, there were always brave souls who went in search of treasures, to explore the dungeons that lay beneath the city and stretched deep down. But this was not always a successful undertaking, especially now, when the upper levels had already been explored and nothing new could be found there, while descending deeper became increasingly dangerous. Of course, the deeper one went, the better the reward one could find. It was in one of the dungeon halls that people had found the blueprints for the train, and even the first train itself! Which, admittedly, was not completed, but that didn't stop the scientists of Starhorod from perfecting this mechanical marvel. In those same dungeons, a weapons factory had also been found, where current rifles were produced. But how many lives had been sacrificed to find it? The dangers of the dungeon included various traps that could be triggered multiple times, as well as mechanical, steam-powered golems guarding particularly important halls. And what could be encountered on even deeper levels—no one knew at all. But it was rumored that the descendants of the current inhabitants of the Free Cities had emerged from one of the dungeon halls, so perhaps there were still people deep down who needed to be rescued. Munib, however, had little faith in that, only perhaps that even more astonishing technologies lay there, surpassing the airship that allowed them to traverse the celestial firmament.
"You seem lost in thought, Professor?" Caspar asked, gazing through the glass at the desert landscape. Perhaps the lad, like Munib himself, dreamed not of seeing the endless sea, but the endless expanses of sand. One could say his dream had come true, and here he was, steering the iron beast, guiding it to its destination.
"Oh, nothing in particular. Listen, Caspar, you're from the Kingdom of Crow yourself, aren't you?" the man asked, already knowing the answer, just wanting to hear another story from his driver.
"Yes, Professor! I grew up in a small town called Sparrow, in Eagle County. Life wasn't particularly remarkable there, but my family clearly didn't have enough money or food to feed the whole brood my parents had produced. So, as one of the older brothers, I decided to take a little trip to the capital, in search of a better lot. Mother was upset, of course, but Father didn't show it, because for him it meant one less mouth to feed, making it easier to provide for the rest of the family. If you're about to say how terrible that is, Professor, I'll interrupt you right away and say that this happens everywhere in almost all non-noble families. To survive, you either have to go work for the local noble, or toil in the fields. And one person can't do much alone in the fields, so they have children, so they grow up to a certain age when they can start being exploited. Of course, they can't always feed the whole brood, and many just send their stepchildren off into the world. With me, it was a bit different, because I was already a working unit, but I decided to save some of the little ones from dying somewhere along the way. We already had enough working hands in the family, so Father wasn't particularly against it. So I wandered for a month, until I stumbled upon a merchant. He decided to take pity on me, as it seemed to me then, and took me on as labor to load his carts. They didn't pay me, of course, just gave me food and water, which I was happy with—back then, drinking clean water and eating pastries was akin to luxury for me. That's how we reached the capital. It amazed me, Professor, and it will probably amaze you too! That merchant offered me to stay with him, but I refused and left him. He threw words after me about what an ungrateful pig I was, but I didn't care—the city beckoned me! I obviously had no money with me, and I quickly realized I needed work. But then luck smiled on me again! I met a sailor who was looking for a cabin boy for his ship, and I agreed immediately. That's how I came to know the delights of sea voyages—true masculine romance! The lads on the ship were all kind, and even Captain Sebastian taught me how to steer the ship. What times those were, Professor! They even paid me for each voyage, not as much as regular sailors, of course, but there was at least some coin in my pocket. And needless to say, every one of those coins went on women and drink, ha-ha-ha!"
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Munib continued listening to his driver's tale. It was no wonder he felt a certain fondness for this lad—he possessed an incredible level of charisma, or simply had a silver tongue. This wasn't the first time the man had listened to Caspar's stories of his adventures. Perhaps, somewhere deep in his soul, Munib even envied him a little, how he had seen the world and how his paths had ultimately led him to the Free City of Starhorod.
The meeting of Caspar and Munib occurred when the latter was assembling an expedition for the journey to the Kingdom of Crow. How surprised the professor was to find that this young lad knew how to steer a ship, had piloted an airship, and had papers proving he had indeed done so—Munib immediately took such a person on as a driver. Caspar quickly figured out how to operate the self-propelled train, and thanks to him, they were approaching Novgorod faster than planned. Besides his astonishing skills, Caspar was also very knowledgeable about his homeland, and would occasionally enlighten the man.
"There are four duchies in the kingdom," Caspar had once said. "The Duchy of Blood, Storm, Wood, and Celestial. Each duchy used to be a separate kingdom, until a hundred years ago King Arthur Crow conquered them all—but I think you already know that, Professor! Each duchy has several counties, and under them are baronies. Also, each count has an assistant—a viscount. The only exception is the Marquises Hound, who report directly to the royal family. It's rumored they hunt down those who are disloyal to the king and his family, but those are just rumors! As far as I know, the Hound family manages the capital city of Crow and its surroundings. But as you know, I'm just a simple ragamuffin, as they say in the Tsardom of Vys, so I could be wrong. Let's get back to the nobles, or it's all about me again! You address royal persons as 'Your Majesty,' and other nobles as 'Your Grace.' You can also address them as 'My Lady' or 'My Lord,' depending on gender, but that's how people living on the noble's lands usually address them. Introductions usually go like this: first the title Lord or Lady, then the name, for example, Lord Munib. Then, if it's an official reception, the title and affiliation of that title follow. For example, Lord Munib, Count of Starhorod. That indicates you are the Count of the city of Starhorod. Surprisingly simple, isn't it, Professor?"
Munib grunted, succumbing to memories, then looked again at the lad, who had turned his gaze to the endless expanses of sand and was no longer telling the man anything, just tending to his work, whistling softly under his breath. Deciding that he shouldn't distract their driver from his main job any longer, the professor left the lead car without saying goodbye and entered the next one, but not via the roofs this time, simply through the doors between the carriages.
The next car was a small storage area, where coal supplies for the train were kept, as well as metal constructions that Munib himself was proud of. These constructions looked like humans, even resembling human statues, only made not of stone, but of metal. Behind each such construction were pipes, currently inactive, but the professor knew that once started, waves of steam would blow from them. These inventions still had no name, but other professors simply called them Mu-6, in honor of the professor himself. Amazing creations, with a small engine in their chest, similar to the train's, but all their power lay in the small connections the man had discovered. Manipulating the subtle energy present throughout their world, which the city's scientists had for now simply named "energy." Munib, using "energy," had managed to make these huge constructions obey his commands, but, unfortunately for him, only the simplest ones so far, like hit, go, stop, etc. And they also had a refueling problem—they needed to be fueled with coal, just like the train, and one refueling lasted about half an hour of active operation and around two hours in passive mode. So at the moment, the Mu-6 were switched off, but as far as the professor knew, Caspar actively checked his creations to ensure they were fueled and could always be activated. Another professor who was also with them on the train, Abid, could also start and control these machines. Currently, he was probably conducting his calculations in the research car, which, unfortunately for Munib, would also have to be left in another Free City. During their not-so-long journey, he himself had also enjoyed spending time there, conducting calculations on how to improve his iron servants. But soon he would have to stop doing even that.
Passing through the coal car, the professor entered a slightly more lively place. This was the work car, where the support staff gathered. Many people greeted him as the man passed by, continuing with their own tasks, such as cooking, laundry, and other domestic matters. Some were sleeping after the night shift, as the train only stopped for technical inspections, which took no more than two hours, before continuing its journey towards its goal, plowing through the desert sand.
Passing through yet another car, the man heard the train sound a signal, the kind usually activated by the driver to announce that their destination was near. Climbing out onto the train's roof, Munib whistled, seeing a small spire faintly visible in the distance. That was definitely Novgorod—their intended destination. But looking at the blazing heat and the slightly hazy horizon, they still had about half a day's journey, if not a day, if they wanted to stop before entering the city.
It was amazing that Caspar had even noticed their destination, as it was still so indistinct it could be mistaken for a mirage. But as it seemed to Munib himself, the lad had spotted the city while the professor was still in the lead car, and only after confirming it wasn't his imagination did he sound the signal. Now the professor would have to attend to more important matters, preparing for the fact that the second part of their journey would be more difficult, as they would have to travel to the Kingdom of Crow not on a comfortable train, but in caravans with camels, which would also have to drag this heavy construction. In Novgorod, he would also have to part with Caspar. But who knows, maybe this young lad would still decide to visit his homeland and continue on with the professor?
*Problems should be dealt with as they arise,* Munib thought, and went to the car where his belongings were, to start packing them. He would think about the rest later.
