Metal Mage 7

by Eric Vall

  Dragir decided his electricity would be much more adequate than the enchanted flames we’d installed, and I couldn’t agree more. Deya even got him to agree to some dim lighting in the backseat so she could read while we travelled, and I worked on rigging the copper so the elf could engrave his rune as soon as the two returned from House Quyn.

  When the dragons began to make their way back out to sea, Haragh joined me up on the cliff, and he laid his giant body across the hood with a loud stretch.

  “Hell of a place,” he mused. “I can see why you’ve been putzin’ around out here for so long.”

  I sent him an unamused glance, and the half-ogre chuckled.

  “It’ll be good to have ye’ back,” he admitted. “The mines are going like clockwork, and the train’s enroute from Gyton all the way north to Aurum. Trade’s up, money’s flowing, and King Temin’s army have been running drills since the day you left Orebane.”

  “That’s a relief,” I replied. “Anyone shoot their hands off yet?”

  “Nah, they don’t go in for your weapons much these days,” Haragh said. “Set in their ways and all that. Captain Torganet ended up packing ‘em all up.”

  I finished my last copper clamp to secure the wiring in place and stood up.

  “They’re packed up?” I asked as I furrowed my brow.

  Haragh nodded and scratched at his bristly cheek. “Last I heard.”

  I shook my head to myself. “Godsdamnit,” I cursed, and I chucked the last of the copper wire into the back seat.

  “What’s up?” the half-ogre asked.

  “No one’s keeping an eye on hundreds of guns, that’s what,” I growled. “The Master managed to replicate one of my revolvers, and when I checked the cylinder, my own fucking bullets were inside. Where the hell did Torganet lock them up?”

  Haragh sat up, and the muscles in his jaw flexed tensely.

  “No idea,” he admitted, “but if your bullets have made it out … ”

  “Exactly,” I groaned, and I leaned back against the doors. “Set in their ways … it doesn’t matter if they don’t like using the guns, they can’t just leave them laying around all over the place. For all I know, every one of them is gone by now, and no one’s even noticed.”

  Haragh nodded his agreement.

  “Come on,” I sighed and headed for the path. “We gotta make sure Cayla’s stocking this trunk until it’s bursting.”

  The princess became even paler than her normal porcelain tone when I told her about Captain Torganet and my concerns, and she immediately pulled another six axes over. Stan held his head and dropped onto his metal ass, and by the time Dragir and Deya came down into the cove, we had a hoard of weapons arranged by type stretching all the way out the mouth of the cave.

  I was building extra rockets for the bazookas so Dragir could engrave them before we left, and Deya trotted over to hop up into my arms with a silvery giggle.

  When I caught her, she held up a hefty book she had tucked under her arm.

  “All packed,” she told me with a glittering smile.

  “You sure you’re ready to duck the law and follow my ass to a whole other nation?” I asked with a grin. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

  “Absolutely,” Deya purred, and she left a playful bite on my lower lip. “Aurora has told me everything about your city of Serin, and I want to try these things she calls quail. Apparently, they are made in the marketplace there and are better than anything I have ever tasted.”

  I chuckled. “Oh yeah! From Owin,” I recalled as I remembered the elderly man and his young son who Aurora always went out of her way to buy from. “Damn, it’ll be good to be back. We’ll stop at his cart first thing, those quail are delicious.”

  Deya nodded her agreement as I settled her back to the ground, and a flood of recollections came to mind about Serin that made my heart ache for the place. I decided I’d stop by the clockmaker’s shop to visit Elias, too, and I was just wondering if Aurora’s cherished horse Nerfrina would be awaiting her return when Dragir caught my eye.

  He hadn’t said much of anything to me since his return from House Fehryn, and he remained quietly brooding to himself while he looked over the rockets I was working on.

  Judging by the disgusted glances he kept sending over his shoulder, I figured he still hadn’t warmed up to Haragh yet.

  The elf was piling a few rockets into his arms when the half-ogre brushed past, and I could immediately tell the hard knock Haragh bumped him with had been on purpose.

  The rockets clanged across the floor of the cave, and Dragir had his sword drawn within a second.

  Haragh eyed the serrated blade leveled at his throat, and I sensed his Terra magic spark as he took a step closer and towered over the elf.

  “Alright, you little shit,” he snarled at Dragir. “I know you’re supposedly a real cool guy but don’t think I won’t snap your neck for ye’ if you keep up the shitty looks and--”

  “Woooah alright,” I cut in.

  Dragir’s eyes glinted in a way I recognized from the battle at House Quyn, and I quickly came over to shove Haragh back a few paces.

  “Let’s just stop it there and get you well out of range,” I murmured to the half-ogre.

  Haragh was practically seething as he glared over my head at Dragir, and the elf didn’t move an inch or lower his blade.

  “Sorry about that,” I called over my shoulder. “I’ll sort it out, and we’ll just … we’ll be right back.”

  “Oh, you’ll sort it out will ye’?” Haragh growled.

  “Would you just … ” I sighed and leaned all of my weight in to force him toward the path, but the half-ogre planted his stubborn feet instead.

  “I’m literally helping you out, what the fuck?” I muttered as I shoved at him harder.

  Haragh grumbled under his breath and sent Dragir another firm glower.

  I motioned to the path with a pointed look, and after he’d taken his sweet time deciding, Haragh finally turned and led the way up to the cliff.

  I passed him up at the top and headed into the jungle, and I spoke as quietly as I could while we went.

  “Tensions are high, and I get that,” I allowed, “but the elves are racist shits, and there’s nothing I can do about that one right now. More importantly, Dragir’s got a rune on him you don’t wanna fuck with. So, just play nice, be the bigger man, and stop threatening to snap him in half. He’ll let you live, and we can get out of here by tomorrow, alright?”

  Haragh stopped on the spot.

  “He’ll let me live?” he roared. “How fucking generous. Did it occur to you I could skin the bastard in a single--”

  I shushed him loudly and checked to be sure no one was following us.

  Haragh rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

  “What’s this rune do then?” he asked. “Can it bring a boulder the size of a mountain crushin’ down on the bastard’s head?”

  The cliff was still visible through the trees, so I pulled the half-ogre a little further along and motioned for him to be quiet.

  “Can he hear us from here?” Haragh whispered, and he mimed long elf ears on either side of his head.

  “I have no idea,” I admitted. “I’m a little vague on the details. This looks about right, though.”

  We came to a stop, and Haragh stooped forward with his eyes wide and waiting.

  I grimaced. “Have you ever boiled water?” I asked in a low voice.

  I detailed the complexity of the various systems of the body slowly boiling away at Dragir’s will, and I’d just started explaining the effect the violent rune had on his disposition when a twig snapped.

  Haragh turned to see the elf standing there, and he jumped so high his Terra Magic sparked and shook the ground beneath us right open.

  I stumbled and grabbed a trunk to keep from falling in, and the half-ogre threw his arms out to settle everything down again.

  “Sorry about that,” he mumbled nervously.

  Th
is time, Haragh only nodded at Dragir when he joined us, and then he abruptly turned his gaze toward anything else he could possibly find to look at.

  I cleared my throat.

  “Hey,” I said with a casual grin.

  Dragir clearly heard everything I’d said, but he didn’t bother pointing this out. He just sighed and kept his scowl trained on Haragh while he spoke to me.

  “Deya is rather nervous about this Master’s plan for you,” he told me.

  “Yeah I know,” I muttered. “It’ll be alright, though. I’ll keep my eyes open, and I promise, nothing will happen to her. You have my word.”

  Dragir nodded and finally dragged his serpentine glare away from the half-ogre.

  “Stalking and ambush, abduction … this is all rather common in Nalnora,” he said frankly. “You know this.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, I did notice that.”

  “I can offer you some assets to ensure you make it back to Illaria, and hopefully not become possessed by this Master’s rune shortly after.”

  I cocked a brow. “Yeah? Like what?”

  Dragir pulled a slip of parchment from his pocket and held it out to me, and when I unfolded it, there were three runes sketched out.

  “Oh, hell yeah,” I chuckled, and a grin spread across my face. “What do these do?”

  Dragir gestured to the top two runes on the parchment.

  “Acute hearing and sharp sight,” he explained. “They will not be too invasive to live with, and they’ll help you stay alert. Your range of detailed sight will be about a sixth of a league, and any sound within the same radius should register.”

  “Fuck yes!” I laughed. “This is perfect! Seriously, thank you. What about the one on the bottom?”

  Dragir shifted and took a steadying breath.

  “I have thought it over carefully,” he told me, “and I am willing to bargain with you for the third rune.”

  I furrowed my brow. “What does it do?”

  “Accelerated healing,” Dragir replied. “Deya mentioned you were looking for something like this.”

  I chuckled my appreciation and turned my face toward the sky to thank the gods.

  “This is amazing,” I laughed. “What’s your price? Name it. Anything you want.”

  Dragir nodded. “Okay,” he muttered. “I will brand this rune on you only if you will help to remove my own. That is my price.”

  My smile immediately fell, and I stared.

  “The blood-boiling one?”

  “Yes, of course,” Dragir said impatiently.

  “Didn’t you say the runes lash out when they’re attacked?” I clarified.

  Dragir nodded once more, and I looked down at the slip of parchment in my hands.

  The three invaluable runes the man was offering practically glistened up at me, and my chest tightened as my nerve wavered.

  “Shhhhit,” I sighed.

  Seemed like I had one last dangerous mission before I got the hell out of Nalnora.

  End of Book 7

  End Notes

  Thank you for reading Metal Mage 7. Once I hit 100 reviews I’ll start working on the next book! Please leave your reviews here! Thank you!

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Eric Vall