The steamstrider chugged forward at a brisk, unrelenting pace, pushed to the absolute limit of what its internal boiler could handle without risking a catastrophic overheating.
"Sometimes I wish she had given us a faster vehicle," Larkin muttered anxiously, his grip tightening on the steering levers. He had managed to maintain a perfectly cool head back at the checkpoint, but after learning just how close they were to finally getting Xain back, a gnawing impatience was beginning to tear at his nerves.
Through the viewing glass, the silhouette of the City of Rivers finally broke the horizon. "Finally," he breathed to himself. Reaching out, he picked up the brass communication receiver from the dashboard and pressed the heavy metal toggle. "We're comin' up to the city," he announced into the tube.
In the passenger cabin in the back, Zee was entirely incapable of sitting still. Despite being securely seated, she fidgeted constantly, her hands anxiously wringing together as her leg bounced with nervous energy. "Soon... soon we'll find him," she muttered under her breath. She turned her head toward the catatonic Nori resting beside her, offering a fragile, desperate smile. "You hear that, Nori? We're close," she whispered, fully aware she wouldn't receive a reply.
Opposite them, Ercale sat completely motionless. His eyes were pressed firmly shut, and he didn't react to Larkin's announcement at all, seemingly pouring his entire focus into sensing something.
Back in the driver's seat, Larkin watched the city grow larger and more detailed—but his relief was abruptly cut short. A contingent of city guards had rushed out from the main gates, quickly forming a sturdy blockade with their own bodies and their scaled, armored mounts directly across the main road.
"What the hell are they doin'?" Larkin muttered, his frustration instantly boiling over. Pulling back hard on the levers, he brought the massive steamstrider to a slow, groaning halt right in front of them.
The lead guard stepped forward, gesturing sharply for the driver to exit the machine. Letting out a heavy, incredibly annoyed sigh, Larkin unlatched the thick metal door and swung himself down from the cabin, his boots hitting the dirt road.
"What's the problem, officers? I was just drivin' to the city," he called out, trying to keep his tone level.
The guards eyed him warily before casting scrutinizing, judgmental looks up and down the towering steamstrider. The lead guard turned his stern gaze back to Larkin. "You cannot go into the city," he stated, his voice blunt and uncompromising.
The flat denial made Larkin nearly lose his mind. "What do ya mean we can't go in?!" he yelled, throwing his arms up in sheer disbelief at the seven armed men blocking their path.
"Keep quiet! Do not disturb the peace!" the guard snapped back sharply.
Larkin stared at him, bewildered. "You're yellin' at me as well!" he shot back.
The guard pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing a long, exhausted sigh. "Just... shut up. You cannot bring that giant... thing into the city. Not only would its noise disturb every single person inside the walls, but you will completely block the streets. That machine would barely even fit on our roads," he explained strictly. He glanced back toward the towering city gates, seeming to weigh their options before turning back to Larkin with a hardened expression. "Listen. At best, we will allow you to park the machine out here in the outer bounds of the city, and you can proceed inside on foot. That is it."
"But we have to get to someone fast!" Larkin argued desperately, taking a step forward.
The guard immediately held up a gauntleted hand, cutting him off. "I do not care. You can go fast on foot, or you do not go in at all. It is your choice."
"B-bu-but—ugh, fine!" Larkin sputtered, throwing his hands down in utter defeat.
Realizing it was a losing battle, he spun on his heel and trudged back to the steamstrider. Reaching the side of the towering machine, he wrenched open the heavy metal door to the passenger cabin. "Hey, you two. We can't go into the city," he announced, leaning into the doorway. "Apparently, the steamstrider is too damn big to fit on their streets."
Zee instantly stood up, her face twisting in dismay. "What? We can't bring it in? But we will be so much slower without it!"
Larkin gave a helpless, defeated nod. "That's exactly what I told 'em, but they don't care. They said it's either we walk, or we don't go in at all."
In the corner of the cabin, Ercale finally opened his eyes. Unfazed by the sudden delay, he stood up smoothly. "Then we do just that," the Demon Lord stated with quiet finality. Without another word, he bypassed Larkin and stepped down onto the dirt road.
Zee hesitated, gesturing frantically toward the unmoving boy on the bench. "But what about Nori? We can't just leave him in here all alone!"
Larkin paused, rubbing the back of his neck as he mulled the problem over. "Okay... I'll ask the guards if they can watch it. They kind of have to, right? It's their job," he muttered, though he didn't sound entirely convinced himself.
Leaving the cabin door open, he jogged back over to the imposing line of city guards. "Okay, we'll walk," Larkin conceded, holding his hands up placatingly. "But we got a sick person inside the strider. He's catatonic—can't move, can't react, can't do anything for himself. So I have to ask, can you please keep watch over our vehicle? We can't just leave him alone."
The lead guard stared at him, his jaw tight. It was obvious he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the strange foreign machine, but he quickly realized that arguing the point would only drag this miserable interaction out longer. After a long, begrudging moment, he gave a curt nod. "Fine. Just park that thing completely off the main road, and we will have someone watch it."
"Thanks," Larkin sighed, genuinely relieved.
He hurried back into the driver's seat, stoking the boiler just enough to lurch the heavy steamstrider off the road, parking it securely in the dirt just outside the city's immediate traffic flow. Cutting the engine, he hopped down and walked back to the passenger door. "They said they'll watch over him, so come on," he told Zee.
Casting one last, lingering look of worry at Nori, Zee finally stepped out of the cabin. A short distance away, Ercale stood off to the side of the road, waiting silently for them to catch up.
Larkin and Zee exchanged a firm, determined nod. Steeling their nerves, the three of them merged into the dense flow of foot traffic, stepping past the gates and into the sprawling City of Rivers to find Xain.