by Jez Cajiao
“That’s enough,” I said firmly, stepping forward and leveling my naginata at the little figure. “Nobody takes Oracle; never!” I insisted, the last words coming out in a growl.
“Jax, it’s okay…” Oracle said quietly. “I don’t think he understands, not really. He’s been conditioned to give things to the ‘Master’ to such a degree that it’s all he can think of. His brain’s been full of poisons for so long, it’ll take a while for it to make real sense; for now, he’s trying to fall back on what he knows. That’s all.”
“So, he’ll attack us?” I asked, and surprisingly, the gnome was the one who responded when Oracle paused.
“Nooooo, nnnoooo fiiiiight…” the gnome said, shaking his head sadly.
“You attacked us,” I snapped, and he nodded, smiling.
“Meeeetallll, lotttts... and meeeeaaat!” he explained, then regarded the collection of debris that filled the corridor. “Saaaaaad…. Giiiint fiiiix?” he asked plaintively, pointing at the smashed parts.
“You can fix them?” I asked, and he stared blankly at me, then pointed at the broken, twisted wreckage.
“Fiiiix?” he asked again, licking his lips nervously and clenching and unclenching his hands as Oracle lifted into the air and landed on my shoulder.
“He doesn’t know what to do…” Oracle said sadly as I reached up and patted her leg, her hand reaching down to rest on my own. “His mind is broken. I’ve fixed it enough that there’s no physical reason he can’t get better now, but the things he must have seen… and if the others are the same…”
“Yes,” I agreed, nodding to him and pointing to one of the strange little bikes. “Fix this.” He smiled wildly at me, his teeth gleaming in the dim light.
Spinning, he ran at the debris, digging his fingers into a twisted section and tearing it free with ease before tugging tools out of his belt and falling to work. We all watched him in awe for a few seconds, amazed by the difference in him, going from a feral creature to, well, a feral engineer. He was totally uninterested in anything around him suddenly, focused only on the problem and fixing it. I had flashbacks to some of the mechanics I’d known back home, never happier than when they were covered in oil and muck, swapping corroded and damaged parts for new shiny ones, or worse, those weird-ass network engineers…
“Jax!” Miren called, and I looked over, realizing that the glowing cylinder was dying away, and that both Jian and the demon were coming out of their daze.
“Shit!” I grunted, rushing to interpose myself between Jian and the creature before it could do anything to him. “Bane! Watch the fucking gnome!” I ordered. There were a dozen feet between the space where we’d moved to stand and where Jian swayed almost drunkenly, but I covered it in record time, visions of the creature ripping his throat out filling my mind.
Instead, it spun toward us and stepped between us and Jian, the golden disc above its head flaring and growing brighter. Tiny lightning bolts seemed to crackle across its surface.
“Stop…” mumbled Jian, and the creature whipped its head around to look at him. “Don’t… it’s okay… friends…” Jian mumbled again, shaking his head and clearly trying to wake himself up. The demon twisted back to glare at us briefly before straightening from the half hunch it’d dropped into, as the light dimmed, and the disc seemed to grow… less. It faded but also seemed to be both smaller and less reflective in a second, and the demon stepped back to stand only a half-step ahead of Jian and to his right, flexing its claws nervously.
We came to a halt, eyeing each other warily as Jian reached out and rested a hand on the demon’s shoulder, clearly bracing himself as he shook his head.
“Sorry, Jax…” he said weakly. “I just… I just need a minute, okay?” Miren stepped in and ignored the glare from the demon as she put her arm around Jian’s waist in order to help him to stand.
She whispered to him for a couple of seconds, while the demon glared around at us all. Finally, I sighed, stepping forward, deliberately trying not to appear threatening as I spoke to the demon directly.
“Do you have a name?” I asked it, and it continued to glare at me, a low growl starting in its throat.
“Uh… Jax?” Grizz interjected, and I tilted my head to him, showing I was listening while watching the demon still. “That’s a demon, okay? They’re generally not known for being sparkling conversationalists…”
“Yeah, well, since I came to this realm, I’ve gotten drunk with dwarves and cat people, flown on ships in the sky and met people as weird as you, mate. No way to know if a demon can talk or not without asking.”
“I can speak your language, whelp,” the demon growled out, and I met its eyes challengingly.
“Whelp?” I snarled, straightening my shoulders and stepping forward. “Really, you want to go there?” I prepared to summon a spell, and my naginata started to glow again.
“No!” Oracle and Jian said in concert.
“No, please don’t kill him, Lord Jax,” Jian said quickly, and Oracle smiled at the demon as it glanced from its Warlock to me. “He’s new here, and he doesn’t understand yet. I’ll explain things to him,” Jian reassured me, and I nodded to him, before sparing another cold stare for the demon, then turning and walking back towards the gnome.
“How strong are demons?” I asked Oracle from where she sat on my shoulder, and she shrugged prettily.
“Depends; give me a second…” she said, looking back at him and half-closing her eyes.
“Master! The wisp is…” the demon snapped out, light crackling across his disc again as it pointed at Oracle, and Jian stepped between him and us, frantically speaking to the creature in a low voice.
“Oops…” Oracle said, before sharing the information with me. “I didn’t think he’d sense that… might be useful, after all…”
Ty’Baronn, Second Spur of the UnSouled.
The demon Ty’Baronn is a lesser Balun Warrior, and while skilled in using their claws and fighting hand to hand, the Balun Warriors are better known for their formidable beam attack: they channel the life force of their prey into a single, powerful blast of energy that can rival the heat of the sun for a short time. Balun Warriors that do not use this ability, and instead store the life essences of lesser creatures, will eventually evolve into higher demonic forms.
Weaknesses: Unknown
Resistances: All Demons enjoy resistances to fire attacks -25% damage
Critical Weaknesses: Unknown
HP: Unknown
Mana: Unknown
Stamina: Unknown
“What might be useful?” I asked her.
“That he can sense magic being directed at him. Well, possibly, we didn’t really get much information on him, though, did we?” she said annoyed.
“Not really, and why did you tell me to stop before? You sounded concerned.”
“Well, it’s got a beam weapon of some kind; we’ve got no idea what it does or how fast it can fire, plus Jian literally just formed a pact with it? Maybe a little early to decide if you’re going to kill it? Hmmm?”
“I wasn’t…” I started to protest, and Oracle just snorted at me.
“Jax, it’s me. I know how irritated you get, and the way you both looked at each other? It was never going to end well. Just do us both a favor and look at my boobs; that’ll make you happy, and it keeps everyone else alive, hmmm?” she purred, shaking her head and talking to me as though I was a simpleton or a child. I growled under my breath but still sneaked a look at her chest as I walked, before realizing that part had been a trap as she started to giggle.
“I’m totally playing with those later…” I whispered to her, and she grinned at me as we both dismissed the demon from our minds, finally reaching the gnome and inspecting what he was doing.
Bane was still present, and was now visible, seated atop a piece of wreckage nearby, while Tang was further up the corridor, looking over the mobile shield. With no imminent threat, I leaned against the wall and pulled up the notifications that
had been frantically pulsing for my attention.
Congratulations!
You have practiced enough to raise your Meditation skill to its first evolution! Through combining several different methods into one, you have shown an understanding that is beyond your years. Continue to practice and learn to increase this skill further. You must now pick a path to follow. Will you choose to widen your boost with RESOUNDING GAINS, or increase the speed of your mana recovery with FOCUS?
Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone.
RESOUNDING GAINS:
The constant changes you’ve forced your body to undergo, mixed with your newly discovered ability to draw and compress mana, have resulted in an entirely new level of meditation. Now when you meditate, for each level of compression you achieve, you will gain one point each of HP, Mana, and Stamina per minute.
FOCUS:
Your skill in mana compression is formidable, and yet, it’s only just begun. Through experimentation, you have realized that by increasing the rate of compression, you can increase the rate of mana replenishment by a total of five points per minute, per level of compression.
I looked over the options for a few seconds, considering the options. I’d not really understood what I was doing; the meditation that Bane and others had taught me had each seemed to be part of the method to me, like understanding that that you cook a chicken to make a roast chicken dinner. Yeah, that’s true, but there’s a lot more to it as well.
The meditation I’d used had been partially guided by my headache and urgent need to refill my mana, and had been partially instinctual, with my mind simply doing, rather than thinking. No, as I looked at the options, I needed to decide. The faster healing, mana, and stamina would have been a game changer when I first arrived here; god knew that if I could have simply meditated for an hour or two and been totally healed and refilled with mana, I would have saved a fortune in healing potions up until now… but…
I had healing spells and potions for a reason. I couldn’t stop in the middle of a fight to meditate, and as cool as it would be, it just wasn’t enough. Having my mana jump by five points per minute per level of compression, though? Hell yes. That meant even if I couldn’t get the ‘boxes’ right, I’d still have what, nearly nine points a minute, and that was amazing.
I chose ‘Focus’. Not that it was really a choice to make, I reflected, and I went on to the next notification.
Congratulations! You have killed the following:
1x Gnome Badunka Rider for 5,150xp
A party under your command killed the following:
5x Gnome Badunka Riders of various levels for a total of 32,480xp
Total Party exp earned: 32,480xp
As party leader you gain 25% of all experience earnt
Progress to level 19 stands at 162,506/265,000
“Booya,” I muttered to myself, nodding in satisfaction and pulling up the final notification.
You have been given a Quest by the Goddess Jenae: ‘Fix the Fixers…’
The Goddess Jenae has commanded you to explore the Sunken City, a site you now know the be the Prax, Glorious Retribution. Upon further investigation, you’ve found a lost tribe of Gnomes, a species renowned not only for their standoffish nature, but also their unwillingness to allow their technology to be investigated by others, and their borderline drug-fueled insanity. Jenae wishes you to further investigate the tribe, healing any you can, and adding to your people.
Discover the secret of the gnomish regression: 0/1
Recover Magical Artifacts and Technologies: 2/?
Retrieve Manastones: 5/100
Retrieve Spell and Skillbooks lost in the Prax: 0/37
Recruit additional citizens: 1/?
Recruit skilled crafters: 1/?
Find the ‘Master’ and free the Gnomish tribe: 0/1
Bonuses will be given for exceeding these numbers.
Reward: Improved technological capacity in the Great Tower. Possible technological boosts to the fleet. Unknown, 250,000Exp
“Well, that’s just fucking peachy…” I muttered, rubbing my chin. “You see this, Oracle?” She nodded. “I notice that the option to accept the quest or not is gone...” Blushing lightly, she coughed.
“I removed it,” she admitted after a brief pause. “It’s not like we were going to refuse, were we?” she asked me, and I sighed.
“No, probably not,” I admitted. “So, now we need to save the gnomes? Seriously, they’re batshit little bastards; do we really want them in the Airships?”
“Probably not…” Oracle admitted. “But have you seen what Giint is making?”
I looked over at him again, having been too absorbed in the notifications to pay much attention to him and knowing that the periodical wash of Bane’s Worldsense, and the way that both he and Tang were watching, meant that we were all right for now, at least.
I paused, my eyes growing wider as I took in the gnome’s work. It was small, maybe five foot long by two foot high, but he’d scavenged the wheels from several smashed vehicles, then had taken four of the legs from the drained mobile shield before ripping half its guts out and adding them to his creation.
It made me think of a walker from the Imperial Forces in those movies I’d loved as a kid, but the legs were inside the wheels, moving them like pistons. A long, bare area had been fitted on the back, behind which I assumed Gint intended to sit, maybe four feet long and three wide, with a ridge around it.
“It’s amazing,” I admitted as he started chucking things into the back. He ignored sections I thought looked almost intact, and then chose bits I assumed were trash, and vice-versa, chucking them all in until he grinned up at Oracle and me manically, his eyes still glowing slightly.
“Sseeeee? Giiiint fiiix!” he crowed, his smile indicating that he was still well over the horizon of madness and probably still accelerating.
“Uh, yeah… well done,” I muttered, impressed at the speed he’d done it in; maybe half an hour, that was all it had taken him, but it was taking definite form, and far faster than I could have built a goddamn flatpack wardrobe. I looked to Bane in shock. He shrugged, but it was Tang who spoke up.
“You’ll never beat a gnome when it comes to making something, Jax. Seriously; where the other races learn and use magic to change the world, they use it at an instinctive level to fix and improve things. The mad little bastard probably has no clue what he does, but that’s why the gnomes are always in demand. The slavers will drop anything to try and capture some, so now, gnomes generally keep to themselves and have a lot of guards. It’s common knowledge that they refuse to share any of their secrets with anyone outside their race, but after seeing what he just did? I’m betting they don’t tell anyone because they can’t. They probably just do it and have no idea how.”
“Well, I hope they can be taught, then, because Jenae gave me a quest to save and recruit them…”
“Oh, hell no!” Tang gaped in horror. “You want gnomes on the Airships? Jax, we’ll never get anywhere; they’ll pull everything apart!”
“Well, we’ll come up with something,” I retorted grimly. “Divine quest, remember?”
“Bloody stupid one…” he muttered, but he did so quietly, and Jenae didn’t respond, so I was relieved and just hoped she’d not heard him.
We stared at each other silently, all feeling various degrees of concern about having more of these midget nutjobs around, when Jian finally joined us.
“Ah, Lord Jax… sorry about before,” he said, nodding to me. “Ty’Baronn wants to apologize as well.” He gestured to the demon, which stepped forward and went down onto one knee, glaring at the filthy floor.
“Ty’Baronn was unaware of the Lord’s nature. Ty’Baronn begs forgiveness and wishes to remain as a bonded pair with Warlock Jian,” the demon growled out, and I inclined my head, gesturing for him to stand and trying to not snarl back at him.
“That’s fine, don’t worry; whatever. You’re welcome to stay if Jian wants you, just
don’t attack anyone unless he says it’s okay, right?” I said, a little distracted as I glanced over him, and then turned my attention back to the gnome. The little bastard was just staring at Oracle again, and I mean staring; not in a sexual way, which was good, but more in a desperate-for-approval way, and when you combined that with the glowing eyes and the glittering metal teeth set in a rictus smile…
“You’re sure he’s sane?” I asked Oracle, and she smiled sadly.
“He’s as sane as I can make him. That’s all I’m saying; I bet Nerin or Hellenica can do more, though.”
“Well, I hope so…” I mumbled, forcing a smile and speaking to Gint directly. “Well done, Gint!” I praised him, and he bobbed his head frantically.
“Giiiint goooood!” he hissed, then set off at a sudden sprint, rushing at the battle shield again. This time, I caught the glow of mana around his hands as he drove them into the machine, tearing and yanking. A screwdriver and hammers seemed to appear almost at random, practically teleported into his hands from the wide belt of pouches hanging around his waist.
His hands practically blurred, swiftly dipping in and out as he removed parts that he threw onto the back of his little creation, while other bits, he tossed aside to lie discarded against the walls. I looked from the dozens of small bits that he saved, then to the parts he’d discarded, and then back to the rapidly shrinking main construction, as he darted back and forth, integrating sections into his new creation or stacking them in the back.
“How the hell is he doing that?” I whispered to Oracle. “I swear there aren’t enough parts to account for how fast the big bugger’s disappearing, but…”
“His bags,” she said simply. “He’s putting parts into his bags as well; I think they’re bags of holding.”
“His… wait…” I hesitated, searching for the other gnome corpses strewn about the floor. “Has anyone checked the bodies?” I asked aloud, and everyone looked at each other sheepishly. “Right. Loot the corpses; they might have valuables, loot, or bags of holding, so…”
“Nooooo!” Gint cried out, dumping the parts he held and running back to us. “No plaaaays with bodieees! Deaddss cannn goooo BANG!” he squealed, jumping up and yanking his hands apart. “Waaaaant Giint mak safesss?”
