It didn’t take long to get all the trucks going again, and they were headed north as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. The drivers lit the lamps on the corners of their vehicles, as well as the headlights.
It slowed them down, but after a whole day on the road, everyone was tired anyhow. The Royal Guard would drive all night, as they didn’t trust anyone else to take over their trucks. But there weren’t many extra people in the convoy to begin with.
Hardly enough to make it look like they had a proper escort.
Dominic slept for a few hours in the forge carriage, which was mostly loaded with supplies. If he had to actually work, it would be useless as a forge until it was unloaded. But presumably they were only going to use it when they got to the city.
At most, they would likely keep it as a backup.
Just after midnight, movement in the sky caught Dominic’s attention, and he pointed the airship out to Wilkes, who shook his head.
"It’s heading north. It has to be one of ours. If there was a bit more moon out, we could likely identify it. But for now, just make a note and we don’t take action. We don’t want to draw attention to our own airships, after all." He replied.
Nothing moved near them as the trucks rattled down the gravel roads all night, and pulled up to the city walls of Burton just before dawn.
The city gates were locked tight, as expected at this time of day. But when they pulled up, the guards opened them after a short conversation with the Garrison Commander, who was in the front carriage with Princess Alexis.
The city was not much of a city, by Dominic’s estimation. It was a collection of fortified towers, gathered around a central keep. Small houses and shops filled every available metre of space, and even the roads through town were on elevated wooden platforms, passing over the roofs of the smaller buildings.
"Well, this is different." Dominic muttered, while Wilkes laughed at him.
"At least there is no mud on the road." The Guard laughed as they moved slowly down the elevated platform.
"The wooden road? Above wooden and clay shake roofs? In a city that might be about to face siege weapons?" Dominic noted.
"When you put it that way, it does sound like a bit of a fire hazard." Wilkes agreed.
They were both mentally mapping the city, thinking of defensive plans for the situation that they had. It was not a great city to defend, with all the wooden structures. But it had a strong stone outer wall, so as long as the city wasn’t on fire, it wasn’t hopeless.
The convoy went straight to the Keep, where the roadways and buildings became all stone and steel, which was a bit more secure feeling than the wooden roadways of the outer areas.
"Send up the Advisor." Someone shouted from the front of the convoy.
Dominic hopped down from the front bench of the truck and jogged up to where a group of Nobles had gathered.
They all gave him matching skeptical looks, with his black robes, polished armour, and the Apprentice Trade Skill Core hung on the chain around his neck. Dominic had removed his hat when he changed into more formal clothes as they approached the city, but he was used to the dismissive looks he got.
"Advisor Dominic, meet the Marquis of Burton and his sons. Marquis, if you have an urgent need to contact me, you may contact the Advisor directly. There is no need to pass messages through staff.
I have conferred with your Garrison Commander, and we have formulated a defensive plan, should the city be targeted. Has the Natural Sons’ Regiment arrived yet?" Princess Alexis asked.
"Your Highness. It’s an honour to have your assistance in these trying times. My younger son Dax is a ranking member of the Natural Sons, and it has been quite the enlightening week having him home again."
The tallest of the young men bowed politely, then turned to face Dominic.
"Dominic Wavemates? Are you not the gunsmith who made the rifles for my Regiment?" He asked.
"One and the same. I have brought spare parts, should we need to repair any of the Regiment’s specialty rifles." Dominic agreed.
The young man sighed in relief, and his father gave him a questioning look.
"He’s the Royal Forge’s premier Gunsmith, despite his youth. He made all five hundred rifles for the Noble Sons’ Regiment personally. Nobody knows our rifles better than he does. With him here, we don’t need to worry about running out of spare gear." Dax explained.
That was a relief to the other soldiers, but the Marquis still didn’t seem to understand anything about it.
"Ah, yes. I heard that your rookie unit had some fancy gear. It was so good of the King to equip the surplus children so well." He declared after a few seconds of thought.
The guards with him, and his oldest son, looked almost stunned by his dismissive attitude. Most parents had a favourite child, but wasn’t that going too far?
But Dominic was sure that would change the moment that a whole Regiment of Riflemen got to work.
"Princess, if it pleases you, we have prepared rooms for you to freshen up and sleep before the afternoon strategy meetings." Marquis Burton offered with a grand gesture that pulled his undersized shirt free of his pants.
He wasn’t a particularly paunchy man, but his clothes were all a bit too tight, and something about that bothered Dominic. The man was wealthy enough that he should be able to afford perfectly tailored clothing.
But as he began to walk, he seemed to deflate. His clothes were loose again, which confused Dominic. He would have to ask about it as soon as they got inside because nobody else was mentioning it.
Dominic moved to Princess Alexis’ left side as they walked, while Colonel Wilkes took the right with his visor down. Again, he was a faceless Royal Guard, identical to his team. He didn’t even wear a badge that showed his rank was different to the others.