feat: drafted twenty-three

chapters/chapter-22.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ summary: >
 
 Linsan sat on the end of Maril's wagon with one arm over the back and her knees up near her chest. She stared aimlessly across the houses and farms that surrounded New Brunil as they grew more sparse and scattered.
 
-Maril cleared her throat. "You've been in a sour mood since you got back. I was praying that you'd find something to give you hope."
+Maril cleared her throat. "You've been in a sour mood since you returned. I was praying that you'd find something to give you hope."
 
 The memory of the fight rose up. With the bitterness of Brook running away was tempered by the rush of using her magic in a fight. It felt good. She smile bitterly. "I found something, just not what I thought I'd fine."
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ There wasn't anything Linsan could respond to. She turned back to watch the surr
 
 As if the gods were listening, she heard a roar of an engine. She hadn't heard a car along the road in days and a sense of foreboding rose as it grew louder with every passing second.
 
-Maril sighed and clicked her tongue to move closer to the side of the road. "Another driver. One of these days, they are going to learn not to run so hot they spook the horses."
+Maril sighed and clicked her tongue to move closer to the side of the road. "Another driver. One of these days, they are going to learn not to run so loud they spook the horses."
 
 "Yeah," Linsan said as she peered down the road.
 
@@ -84,15 +84,15 @@ Linsan scrambled around to face Brook. She lifted herself up to her knees. "I'm
 
 Brook turned on her. "Shut up, old woman!"
 
-Maril's mouth opened in surprise.
+Maril's mouth opened in surprise. It quickly twisted in a scowl.
 
-Slapping the side of the wagon again, Brook spun back on Linsan. "And you! You aren't supposed to be here."
+Slapping the side of the wagon again, Brook spun back on Linsan. "And you! You aren't supposed to be here. You weren't suppose to be at that damn garage."
 
 "I'm trying to help!"
 
 "No, you are trying to find that piece of crap violin you are obsessed about!"
 
-"And the men who killed your father!" Linsan's eyes burned with tears. "I'm going after them too."
+"And the men who killed your father!" Linsan's eyes burned with tears. "I'm going after them too. This isn't about---"
 
 "I don't want your Couple-damned help---"
 
@@ -102,9 +102,9 @@ Brook gave her only a half-second glare before returning to Linsan. She held up
 
 Maril reached over and grabbed Brook's outstretched wrist. She yanked hard. When Brook turned, Maril slapped her with her other hand.
 
-The goggled flew off her head and fell back to tangle in her hair.
+The goggles flew off her head and fell back to tangle in her hair.
 
-Maril leaned down while she pulled Brook closer. "You can have your disagreement all you want," she said in a terrifying calm voice, "but if you insult the Couple one more time, I'm going to get down and spank your ass like a petulant little brat."
+Maril leaned down while she pulled Brook closer. "You can have your disagreements all you want," she said in a terrifying calm voice, "but if you insult the Couple one more time, I'm going to get down and spank your ass like a petulant little brat."
 
 Brook shook as she glared at Maril.
 
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ Linsan shook and sat down hard. Tears ran down her cheeks. "I just wanted to hel
 
 The sound of Brook's car faded away.
 
-Linsan shook her head. "W-We should get going."
+Linsan shook her head. She exhaled hard. "W-We should get going."
 
 The wagon didn't move.
 
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ Maril beckoned for her. "Come on, wait on the bench with me."
 
 Confused, Linsan looked up.
 
-"Your friend will be back." All the anger and annoyance had faded away from Maril's face. She was the kind and cheerful woman that Linsan had been traveling with for days.
+"Your friend will be back." All the anger and annoyance had faded away from Maril's face. She was once again the kind and cheerful woman that Linsan had been traveling with for days.
 
 "I---"
 
@@ -172,11 +172,11 @@ There was a faint roar of an engine.
 
 The sound grew louder. Ahead of them, dust boiled around the pink buggy as it raced back.
 
-Marin chuckled. "Thank the Couple," she whispered.
+Maril chuckled. "Thank the Couple," she whispered.
 
-Linsan nodded. "Thank you."
+Linsan shoo her head in amusement. She didn't think Maril was right but she was proven wrong.
 
-Maril turned to her. "Friends fight."
+Maril turned to her. "Friends fight all the time."
 
 "She isn't a friend."
 
@@ -186,10 +186,28 @@ Maril responded by taking Linsan's hands. "Friends fight. They argue and they sn
 
 Brook's car reached them. The sound of the brakes squealed as she slammed on them. Then the car swung around on the dirt road, blowing past them as it spun until it was facing the same direction. With a rattle of pistons and the groan of steam pressure, it pulled up and came to a hissing stop.
 
-Brook, her cheeks wet with tears, leaned over.
+Brook, her cheeks wet with tears, leaned over the passenger seat and stared out the window.
 
-Linsan turned to her, unsure of what to say.
+Linsan clutched the wagon and stared back. She didn't know what to say but she knew that the first words couldn't get out of her mouth.
+
+Brook said nothing. Her jaw tightened as her eyes shimmered.
+
+Uncomfortable, Linsan felt her body growing more tense with every passing second. Her mind spun furiously as her desire to be with Brook warred with their past.
 
 Finally, Brook sighed. "Please?"
 
-All the speeches faded. The only thing Linsan could do was slip off the wagon and get into Brook's buggy. It was the right thing to do. She wasn't sure if it was the Couple or luck, but at least she was going to have help finding the killers and Palisis.
+All the speeches faded. The only thing Linsan could do was slip off the wagon and get into Brook's buggy. She put her pack and case on a narrow back bench before slipping into the passenger seat. Even the first touch, the soft leather underneath her sore rear, told her that being in the buggy would be a completely different ride than the wagon. She decided it was scarier. She glance at Brook.
+
+Brook stared straight ahead. Her jaw worked for a moment. She used one hand to wipe the tears from her face before she grabbed the steering wheel with her gloves. The blue leather creaked.
+
+Linsan cringed but she settled into the seat. The smell of perfume and sweets filled the air. She looked down to see that Brook had a tray of sugared treats on top of a stack of papers. There were maps and notes jammed up against the driver's seat.
+
+"Door," Brook said in a strained, cracked voice.
+
+"Oh, sorry." Linsan blushed and closed the door. She waved to Maril who waved back.
+
+"Blessed journey!" called out the older woman. "I'll pray for both of you!"
+
+Brook slammed on the accelerator. Grills flared on the side of the buggy as a blast of heat poured out from underneath the engines. Steam hissed loudly as the car lurched forward. The pistons creaked twice and then began to force the wheels to turn.
+
+In the first seconds, it was only loud and hot inside the cabin. Then a steady pressure pushed Linsan back as the vehicle accelerated. The pressure increased dramatically and she sank back. Frightened and startled, she gripped the handle of the door as the car shot forward.

chapters/chapter-23.md

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+title: A Mapped Route
+teaser: >
+  Linsan is uncomfortable traveling in a vehicle compared to the wagon. Brook's tension isn't helping.
+summary: >
+  Linsan is uncomfortable traveling in a vehicle compared to the wagon. Brook's tension isn't helping. Eventually Brook speaks up and explains how she figured out where the murderers are going, by mapping the car they stole from her father.
+---
+
+> Once society accepted that technology wasn't just a passing fad, a new war started as different guilds attempted to control the newborn industry.  --- *Wrench and Blood*
+
+Compared to the wagon, Linsan was almost frightened by how fast Brook's vehicle moved at full speed. Between the large tires and the soft seats, it felt like they were floating more than riding. After days on the wagon and feeling every bump and rut, it was a godsend.
+
+Slowly, she relaxed her grip on the handle. Her fingers ached from the effort as she peeled one finger off and then the others. She groaned and rubbed her palm with her fingers as she looked around.
+
+Brook's gaze was fixed forward. She had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on a stick rising up from between the two seats. On each side of the stick were two buttons that she would occasionally push down as she rocked it back and forth.
+
+Linsan had no clue what Brook was doing.
+
+Ahead of them, she saw a village approaching. In her mind's eyes, she thought about Maril's directions. They had covered three hours of the wagon's travel in only a half hour.
+
+Brook slowed slightly near the buildings but then passed through the town.
+
+Linsan watched the buildings rush past. She spotted people outside, folks who may have seen the murderers passing by. However, Brook didn't seem to be inclined to stop. "D-Do you know where you're going?"
+
+Someone swore at them and the sound rose and fell before fading.
+
+Brook's grip tightened. "Stone Over Moon Waters," she said in a strained tone. It was just on the edge of annoyance, anger, and obsession.
+
+Then she grew silent again.
+
+Linsan sighed. She looked around the cabin. It was small but comfortable, the best that a rich person could afford in a vehicle. Or at least she assumed, she never even had a fraction of Brook's money. She was sure it was more comfortable than even her bedroom at home.
+
+They left the village as quickly as they arrived.
+
+Linsan squirmed. The silence and Brook's tension was grating on her nerves. "How did you find them?"
+
+Brook's shoulder hunched for a moment. With a groan, she squeezed the steering wheel before she slowly slumped back. "They stole Daddy's 1842 Deanglen Black Thunder. There were only twenty of them made and none of them near home. Daddy...." Her voice cracked as her eyes shimmered. "Daddy always said that Deanglen was high when he made the car. It was always busting a joint and leaking something on the garage floor. It couldn't get more than a few hundred miles without breaking something, so I drove around in circles until I found a garage that had serviced it."
+
+She let out a choked sob. She released the wheel to wipe her face, but stopped. She glanced toward Linsan and then pressed her hand firmly against her thigh.
+
+Linsan stared in discomfort.
+
+Brook picked up a cup from a hook near the dash and drank from it. When she finished, she put it back and returned her palm to the steering wheel. "So... Daddy thought this war between the Mechanics Guild, Artificer Academy, and the Pistons is horse shit, so he never registered any of our cars with the guilds. That means, the... the...." She caught herself. "They can only go to an unaffiliated shop because they don't have time to get it registered."
+
+"Is that why you skipped the village?"
+
+Brook nodded. She glanced down and then back up to the road. Her hand patted the small table between the seats for a moment and then pulled out a map. It was drawn on heavy paper with hundreds of colored symbols everywhere.
+
+Linsan took it and peered at it. She frowned as she stared at the unfamiliar shapes. She had tried to read a map a few times in her life but very little made sense to her. There was a line that ran from their home town of Penesol to New Brunil. Along the way, there were a dozen gear and wrench symbols of different colors; Brook had circled the black wrenches along the path.
+
+Brook spoke after a few moments, "The next place is a town called Jamorel. They have a mechanic on the north side. I also sent a request for a room at one of the local inns through the network."
+
+She took a deep breath as the sobs seemed to quiet. "I'll get you a room. No reason for you to sleep in the car when I have a bed."
+
+Linsan bristled. "I can pay my own way." True, she had only done it once and she wasn't sure it would happen again. The casual way Brook mentioned it felt like Linsan had been clawed.
+
+Brook gave her a hard look. She rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the road. "Don't worry, it won't be a fancy one."