by Eric Vall
Stan gave a curt nod and raised an arm, and after a moment of hesitation, the machine raised his own and offered a finger to the little guy.
The high five they shared clearly meant everything was solid between the two, and Stan wasted no time leaping onto this new brother’s head to give him a bit of a snuggle.
“Aww,” Aurora giggled. “They love each other already.”
“That thing can love?” I heard Urn mutter uneasily, but when the blood red eyes suddenly turned to him, he stammered an apology as he backed away another step or two. The burly Terra Mage seemed to have shrunk an inch or two, and I had to chuckle.
Barnick wore a devilish grin on his face, though, and he nodded his appreciation with a scheming glint in his eye.
“Ohhh yes, this one will do just fine,” he growled. “Put him right there at the gates of the Oculus and teach him to crush skulls.”
I furrowed my brow. “I’m probably not gonna teach him to do that.”
“Do it,” Barnick urged with a devious smile. “You could call him Bone Crusher. Or Flesh Peeler. No wait! The Taxidermist. Yeah, that’ll do. Or--”
I couldn’t help laughing as the crazy guy carried on like this while Urn frowned in disapproval, but I didn’t bother shooting down the ideas. He was really on a roll.
Eventually, I just moved on to the snatcher and let Barnick have his fun, and I pulled the deep green emerald from my pocket as I approached the last automaton.
Stan and Big Guy’s twin watched patiently while I embedded the gem in the central wiring hub, and when the first flicker of a glow appeared, three distinct, blackish fissures gleamed within the deep green hue.
He looked nearly as menacing as his brother when his eyes suddenly flashed green, but with less weaponry on him, he was less intimidating. I grinned at once and offered the guy a high five to welcome him, and when he returned the gesture, I sensed a steadfast personality to him. He seemed like a pretty calm guy, whereas his brother had an energy that implied he didn’t have the patience for anyone’s bullshit.
I smirked at the two of them side by side, and once Stan humbly introduced himself to the snatcher with a bow, I knew he’d picked up on the difference, too.
“Not bad,” I mused. “I think we’re all gonna work well together, guys. Now, we have a lot of work ahead of us, and I know you just woke up, but our family’s not really the type for holidays and weekends off. So, if you guys are up to it, I’d like to get you out on the job today.”
Both automatons, especially the blood red guy, were eager to begin, so I began with channeling my intentions for their individual duties first.
Stan pretended to help even though he really just stood with his arms crossed and nodded his approval now and then. I could tell he wanted to instill his place as the oldest despite his size, though, and I acted like his nods somehow helped me get the job done.
I heard Big Guy casually taking a double and then triple pass in the western woods while he waited impatiently to meet his new brothers, so as soon as the two sentries had fully absorbed their orders, I sparked my metal magic and transferred them out of the atrium to set them down in the clearing beside the house.
They looked even more intimidating out in the open while they practiced getting around with their tracks, and I explained to the snatcher about the rune he would need to learn to use once Shoshanne had his darts prepared. He seemed pretty calm about this idea, too.
Then Big Guy slowly rolled up behind the two, and they all turned to face one another. Big Guy and his twin considered each other stoically, and I sensed a strange thing going on between them. Neither one moved an inch, so I didn’t know how it was decided, but there was already a bit of sibling rivalry between them.
I cleared my throat. “I should warn you that if you can’t play nicely, I’ll be dulling both of your swords for the week.”
The automatons looked away from each other, and I rolled my eyes.
Maybe I shouldn’t have made them identical twins, but I made sure to keep the sentry an inch shorter than Big Guy for his sake. Apparently, this wasn’t quite enough of a difference, but they’d be working different territories for a while, and that would hopefully give them some time to appreciate one another more.
When Big Guy considered the snatcher, though, the energy was incredibly subdued, and he raised a hand to receive a firm, clanking, high five.
“Hell yeah!” I laughed. “You guys are just like me, it’s ridiculous. This is so fucking cool.”
I was still laughing proudly when Aurora cocked an amused brow in my direction, but I didn’t care if it sounded silly. The three automatons were some of my greatest achievements, especially since I’d managed to mine two of their gems myself without dying. It was like I’d built my own army, which I was already doing otherwise, but this one I’d genuinely built, and there was something very satisfying about finally seeing them all together like this.
It was definitely intimidating, too. They brought the term ‘killing machine’ to a whole other level for me as I really took in the full effect of their hefty weaponry, menacing eyes, and massive frames. Still, my chest swelled with pride, and Stan stood there amongst them like he knew exactly how I felt.
“Let’s get to work, boys,” I said with a broad grin.
Before heading to the Oculus, I did finally swap my completely destroyed shirt for another one because the sentry was scary enough without me walking him to his post covered in blood. Cayla insisted the shirt she’d bought was made of the finest material in Serin, but it was honestly just a white tunic, and Haragh snorted from the corner like he was thinking the same thing.
Deya decided to stay behind and begin engraving her new scales, and after she asked to borrow the little metal stick with a smirk, we left her to work in the atrium with Ruela standing guard at her feet.
I made sure the snatcher knew to keep an eye on the place for us while we were gone, and I explained what Shoshanne looked like in case she finished her work with Raynor before we got back.
Barnick sighed as if the fun was over and offered to buy the next round of pints for Urn, but I had better plans for him after all that crazy talk about peeling flesh and devilish horns.
“Hey Barnick,” I called as I motioned for him to join us in the Mustang, “have you ever considered security work?”
The man smoothed the erratic white streaks on his temples back as he strolled over, and he narrowed his green eyes speculatively.
“Depends,” he grunted. “Is there ale?”
“As long as you do the job, I’ll make sure you’ve got a steady supply.”
Without another word, Defender Barnick dropped into the passenger seat, and Haragh joined Cayla and Aurora in the back.
“The king’s gonna be callin’ out his Guard when he sees this guy comin’ up to those gates,” the half-ogre muttered.
I glanced in the rearview mirror at the blood red eyes waiting to trail us to the capital, and I couldn’t help grinning once more.
“It wouldn’t matter it he did,” I chuckled. “This guy could probably take on the whole King’s Guard by himself.”
“He won’t, though, right?” Aurora clarified.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “I know he looks like a wild card, but I was explicit with his instructions, and I even offered him all of my own impressions of the possessed mages so he would know what subtleties to keep watch for. He’s one hundred percent dedicated to defending everyone in the capital now, not just the mages. If anyone tries to fuck with Serin, they’ll be answering directly to this guy.”
“He does need a name,” Cayla pointed out while we headed east.
“Mutilator,” Barnick offered with a sinister chuckle.
I smirked. “You’re going to love your new post.”
I tested the sentry’s speed once we got to more level terrain, and I figured he topped off at about fifty miles an hour with his massive tracks. Which meant he could easily run down anyone, but also get to Falmount qu
ickly if necessary.
When we got to the gates of the capital, we left the Mustang outside with Simun and Goreth just in case the sight of the sentry caused any panic. This way, the citizens would be able to see us at ease with him, and they’d have first-hand proof that he wasn’t there to do any harm.
So, I led the way with my two women on either arm, Haragh and Barnick just behind, and the sentry slowly following our path through the streets of Serin.
Barnick and Haragh were scowling side by side, so that could have added to the general unease, but as I sent the citizens a reassuring grin here and there, they seemed a little less terrified of the sentry. I glanced back a few times to find the automaton looking around at the crowd of people gaping on either side of us, and he nodded his greetings in a way I could tell was meant to be friendly.
It seemed to only make the women gasp and clutch their husband’s arms, and a few men even stumbled back as if he’d targeted them as his next victim.
“I’ll have Temin make a formal announcement,” I decided. “That should settle everyone down a bit.”
“That would be wise,” Cayla replied. “Once the citizens are made to understand he’s here to serve their needs and the needs of the Oculus, they’ll be more inclined to trust the issues within the Order are in good hands. Eventually, Wyresus’s incompetence will come to light, but the people trust you, Mason. They’ll feel safer knowing you addressed the problem before anything could escalate further.”
“Hopefully,” I sighed. “I do feel better about the security of the Oculus now, but this is still only the beginning. The fact that the Master is altering runes, like the one we saw on the stone, is more concerning than anything at the moment. Aside from the Baroness.”
“I still don’t trust her,” Aurora muttered as she waved to a group of young boys whose jaws were unhinged over the sentry. “I don’t like that she’s been asking Pindor about you, and I don’t doubt for a second she did tell him to meet her in those woods where the mages attacked him. He said he couldn’t hear her well, but she can alter people’s ability to hear on purpose. If that doesn’t prove she’s up to something, I don’t know what does.”
“It isn’t only that,” Cayla mused. “She’s always a step ahead of us, it seems.”
I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”
“When you got to House Natyr, she was already there,” the princess explained. “When we arrived at House Fehryn, she was there, and the same occurred with House Orrel. Now, we’ve travelled across Nalnora to Serin only to find she is already here as well.”
A cryptic chill ran down my spine as I realized she was right.
“You might be right not to trust her,” I muttered to Aurora as the guards shakily parted the castle gates for us. “Either way, I’ve got a man on the job, so we should know something soon.”
King Temin was waiting with ten guards surrounding him when we entered the castle courtyard, and I could tell by the state of him that word of the sentry had travelled ahead of us.
“Defender Flynt,” the king said with a frown, “the people are in a panic, what’s going on here?”
“I understand their unease,” I allowed, “but I’d appreciate if you could make a formal announcement to ease their worries. This is the line of defense I told you I would build to protect the Oculus.”
The king’s expression eased up immediately, and as he looked in awe at the giant automaton, I beckoned for the sentry to join us.
“He doesn’t have a formal name yet, but--”
“His name’s The Cannibal,” Barnick suddenly announced, and Temin looked at the man with concern.
“No, it isn’t,” I sighed. Then I moved to explain the sentry’s weaponry to the king. “His name doesn’t matter at the moment. The important thing is he’s armed with a crossbow on this arm, and the sword on the other is retractable, so it stays sheathed when he’s not using it. He’s also got a special device called a blow gun on the inside of this forearm which I’ll be bringing the ammunition for in the next couple days. It’s designed to propel darts that will be tipped with a tranquilizer, and he has a netting contraption in the opposite shoulder so he can deliver any mages he captures to me in Falmount Rift.”
“Captures?” the king asked in confusion.
“Yes,” I replied. “I’ve devised a method of recapturing the mages who have been branded in order to free them from the Master’s rune and restore them to the Order. This sentry, and another I have back in Falmount, will be in charge of subduing the possessed mages to ensure we can safely and promptly perform the necessary procedure.”
King Temin stared for a long moment while he processed this, and there was a hint of admiration in his gaze I tried not to appear too uncomfortable with. He had always treated me as more of a friend than a subject, but now he was looking at me less like an equal, and more like I was somehow above him. Which genuinely caught me off guard.
“Temin?” I finally asked uneasily. “You alright?”
“Fine!” he said as he blinked himself back to attention. “Fine, I was just … I’ve knighted you, correct?”
“So I’ve been told,” I chuckled.
Cayla cleared her throat lightly, and I knew the next word out of her mouth was going to be baronetage, but I casually spoke before she could start grabbing up anymore power for me.
“Anyway,” I loudly sighed, “I’m gonna get this guy to his post and check on a couple things in the Oculus. As I said, I’ll be back in a couple days with the tranquilizer darts, and we’ll need to sit down and discuss a few things that have come to light this week.”
“Of course,” King Temin nodded at once, “I’ll be waiting.”
I bowed and steered Cayla toward the gates of the Oculus, and the princess sent me a sidelong glance while Aurora giggled.
“Do you really think you can stop me from getting you that baronetage?” she asked with a smirk. “King Temin is drooling for a way to repay you, and with a single word from me, you’d be Baron Flynt within the hour.”
“Yeah but Barons are so stuck up,” I told her teasingly. “Knights are badass and have gangly squires who wanna kill each other. It’s way more fun this way.”
She raised her eyebrows and shrugged, and the gesture made me think I didn’t really have a say in this. I’d probably end up Baron Flynt whether I wanted to or not.
So, I just sighed and led the sentry and the others along the blackened tunnel leading to the stone entrance of the Oculus. The eerie glow of the bloody eyes illuminated the way for us, and it cast Barnick’s grin in a genuinely disconcerting light.
“Tell me you brought me here to be this guy’s right-hand man,” the burly mage said greedily. “We’d make a fucking great team.”
“It is tempting,” I muttered as I eyed his menacing gaze, “but I’ve got someone way more deserving of your energy. Feel free to scare the hell out of him, but don’t kill him, no matter how tempted you are. He’s doing some work for me that I absolutely need to see accomplished. Unfortunately, once he starts making some real headway with the project, I can’t have anyone getting to him. So, guard him like your own life depended on it.”
Barnick furrowed his brows as we came into the torchlight at the end of the tunnel.
“Guard him but keep him terrified … ” Barnick mused. “Who is this guy you want me watchin’?”
“The head of the Order.”
Defender Barnick looked like Christmas had come early, and when he threw his head back, his laugh echoed throughout the entire tunnel in a manic sort of way that only affirmed my decision.
He was the perfect mage to keep watch over Wyresus for me.
“Lead me to my ward,” Barnick said with a toothy grin, and he was rubbing his palms together as I parted the stone entrance for him.
I made sure the sentry was all set and comfortable with his new post, and judging by the blinding glow of his gem and the crisp salute he sent me, I knew he’d be just fine here.
As we mad
e our way through the Oculus to head for the great library, I stopped a couple of the Defenders I’d met at the pub to let them know the sentry was ready for duty, and to have them spread the word to the mages about their new guardian.
Several younger mages who had been eavesdropping eagerly hurried toward the entrance to look, and part of me was disappointed I wouldn’t get to see their faces when they opened those doors.
I still had a list of my own duties to get to, though, so I continued on toward the cellar of the library. I left the others waiting in the hall when I entered Wyresus's confines, and I found the Aer Mage sleeping in a pile of drool that had begun to seep into the ancient Elven Scrolls.
“Wake the fuck up,” I barked, and Wyresus jumped so violently, he smacked his balding head on the chair back and went cross-eyed for a second. “Is this you doing your job? Because I feel like your dedication is lacking.”
“Yes,” he assured me hastily. “I mean no! No, sir! I was just--”
“Destroying a document that has been in existence for thousands of years,” I informed him, and then I calmly tipped the two lofty stacks of books beside him onto the ground. I could tell from their bindings they had absolutely nothing to do with translating Elvish.
Wyresus grimaced. “Defender Flynt, I do apologize, it’s only that--”
“Don’t apologize,” I cut-in as I headed for the door. “This is a classic issue of a lack of motivation in the workplace. As your boss, it’s my job to see you’re properly motivated, and I’ve come to do just that.”
I opened the door and made a motion down the hall before I turned back to Wyresus, and he looked like he really didn’t want to know what kind of motivation I had in mind.
Then a deep chuckle came from the dim hallway before Defender Barnick entered the chamber, and he grinned like a fucking serial killer when he eyed Wresus sitting at the table.
“Hellooo,” Barnick said in a low voice. “We’re gonna be gettin’ to know each other down here. I should warn ye’, though, I don’t need sleep to survive. Just ale, blood sausage, and someone I can strangle once in a while to keep the boredom at bay.”
