Thomas Gown and his companions have escaped from captivity, but only by fleeing deeper into the unknown, to face new dangers. They are carrying a secret that could save the world, though, and they have a duty to take it to those who can make use of...
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
"Here, try this on," said the moon trog, handing Shaun a suit of plate mail armour. "If the measurements are accurate, it should fit perfectly."
Shaun took the suit and was surprised at how light it was. Not light in terms of weight, as it would have weighed virtually nothing in Kronos's low gravity even if it had been made from plates of lead, but light in terms of being thin and flimsy, as if it were made of plates of eggshell. He examined it critically. It looked comfy enough, with a soft backing of finely woven cotton, but he couldn't believe it would stop a peashooter, let alone an fourteen inch war arrow with all the force of an Agglemonian crossbow behind it. The plates, each about the size of his thumbnail, were as thin as a sheet of paper and, he was shocked to find, slightly transparent.
"What's it made of?" he asked doubtfully.
"A kind of glass ceramic," replied Ban-Chin, coming forward to stand beside the tailor. "It was invented since we came up here, so I doubt there's anything like it back on Tharia."
"Glass!" exclaimed Shaun in outrage. "You expect me to wear plate mail made of glass?"
"Glass ceramic," corrected the moon trog with a smile. "Light and ultra strong." He laughed at the continuing look of disbelief on the human's face and produced a larger sheet, six inches square. "Here," he said, handing it over. "Try to break it."
Shaun turned it over and over in his hands, looking up at the moon trog's smiling face. He looked back down at the sheet and applied a little pressure with his fingers. He expected it to snap easily, like a sheet of ice, but it didn't. He applied a little more pressure, using both hands this time, then a bit more, increasing until he was straining with the effort but it still resisted him. He eventually gave up, his doubt replaced by a new respect. "By the Gods!" he said.
"Glasses are one of our specialities," said Ban-Chin. "We make kinds of glass so strong that they've replaced metal in some applications. We make kinds of glass with other exotic properties as well, for other purposes. It was our clan that first invented optical fibre thousands of years ago, although that secret soon leaked out. Virtually all trog clans know how to make it now." He gestured again at the suit of plate mail. "Try it on. We recommend you wear it against the skin. You can wear whatever you like on top of it."
Shaun handed the sheet of glass ceramic to Matthew and removed his new suit of clothes until he was floating in his underwear. Then he pulled the suit on, buttoning it up the front. With its long legs, long sleeves and hood, it protected virtually his entire body.
"How does it feel?" asked Diana.
"Really comfy," replied the soldier, looking at himself in a mirror. "Hardly feels like armour at all." He pulled on his other clothes again, also made for him by the tailor. With the hood carefully folded down around his neck, no part of the armour suit was visible and he looked like any ordinary citizen of any normal city on Tharia. Unfortunately, the citizens of Kronosia tended to dress lightly, the men in particular wearing open tunics that left their chests bare. They wouldn't be able to wear them in the moon city, not if they wanted to blend invisibly amongst the common people, but they would be perfect for the journey there. The perfect defence against cons and Konnen patrols.
