by Eric Vall
That wasn’t necessarily true. I had a theory that Stan only loved the princess so much because it was a reflection of my own feelings for her, but that wasn’t really important.
Cayla walked across the room, picked the stickman up off the table, and placed him on her shoulder with a smile. “Well, I must admit, I’ve become rather fond of him, too. He will be welcome company.”
When the princess came back toward the door, I reached out and touched her elbow. She paused with an inquisitive expression, but I simply flashed her a grin before I looked to the stick figure on her shoulder.
“You look out for Cayla and Aurora, alright Stan?” I said as I pointed a finger at him. “Help them out with their chores and listen to what they say.”
Stan looked at me blankly for a moment before he raised his matchstick of an arm to his head and gave me a salute.
“Great,” I said with a smile, and then I extended my finger a little to give him a high-five. “I knew I could count on you, buddy.”
“We will be a formidable trio,” Aurora remarked as she grinned at the stickman.
“Alright then,” I said as I clapped my hands together. “Looks like we have our marching orders. Hop to it, team, and we’ll regroup in a few hours.”
Aurora, Cayla, and Stan nodded in unison. Then the three of them left the workshop together, and the door banged closed behind them.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, Big Guy,” I muttered as I walked over to the still and quiet animatron. “Let’s get to work, huh?”
Then I summoned up my magic, and we began our tests.
I spent the next several hours giving Big Guy any and every little task I could think of. Well, any task that he could accomplish without legs of course. It was a lot of picking objects off the table, to be honest, but even though the actual work was a little repetitive, it wasn’t useless.
“Pick up that hammer,” I commanded my machine for the umpteenth time. Sweat slid down my temples and off the tip of my nose, and my muscles ached with the amount of magic it took to pilot Big Guy.
But as the animatron reached out, wrapped his fingers around the hammer, and lifted it up into the air, I realized it happened a lot easier than it had the first time. My power still dipped, but this time it didn’t make my vision swim or my mouth suddenly go dry.
“Looks like I’m building some magical muscle, buddy,” I said to the machine with a grin. “You’ll be up and running like Stan in no time.”
Perhaps that was a bit of a stretch, but this was definitely progress, and I would take it.
After I had exhausted both myself and the number of tests I could give Big Guy, I took a little break and decided to work on some sketches for future weapons I wanted to give Big Guy. I wondered if I could potentially mount guns on his arms, but I knew that was going to take a little more finagling, so I started off with simpler killing tools. There were a lot of them since humanity had perfected the art of war long before guns were invented.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and I swore it felt like mere minutes had gone by when the door swung open again.
“Don’t tell me you’ve spent all day drawing?” Aurora teased as she and Cayla strode into the workshop. “It’s already past dinner.”
I blinked as I looked up. “Oops?” I glanced around the dozens of papers scattered around me. “Looks like time got away from me.”
“What in the world is this?” Cayla asked with a frown as she picked up one of my sketches.
I peeked at the drawing and then chuckled. “That’s a bazooka and way too difficult to make at this point. I told myself I was brainstorming, but that’s more of a fantasy right now.”
“What does it do?” Aurora questioned as she leaned over Cayla’s shoulder to look at the sketch.
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, the door suddenly burst open behind me with a thunderous bang. I spun around, heart in my throat and fingers on my holster, and spotted Gwain as he leaned against the threshold and panted.
“Y-your Highness a-and Mason,” he gasped as his frantic eyes found first Cayla and then me. “T-there’s… been another attack! Or rather an attack is currently happening! The bandits have set fire to the town of Lindow, and the flames were just spotted from the castle’s parapets!”
My body instantly snapped to alert, and my heart began to pound a staccato rhythm beneath my sternum. “How far away is the town? Has the king dispatched men yet?”
Gwain nodded as he clutched at his chest and sweat dripped off the tip of his nose. “Captain Mayard and his men just departed for the stables. You can still catch them.”
“Perfect.” I looked to Aurora and Cayla, and they both met my eyes squarely and nodded in unison.
“We’re ready,” the half-elf said with an edge of steel in her voice.
“This is a display of power,” Cayla seethed, and her ice-blue eyes were hot with rage and hate. “Camus Dred is sending a message that he can do whatever he wants wherever he wants. He’s never struck this close to Eyton before, but it was only a matter of time. He’s grown arrogant.”
“Then let’s go knock him down a few pegs,” I replied with a sharp grin. I glanced at the half-finished animatron on the table beside me and patted him. “Sorry, Big Guy. You’re not battle-ready yet, but there will be more bandit-ass to kick in the future.”
“We need to hurry if we are to catch Captain Mayard,” Cayla said as she strode quickly for the door. Stan wobbled on her shoulder and clung to a strand of her hair to keep from toppling to the floor.
“Lead the way,” I told the princess, but then I looked back to the blacksmith who still panted just inside the doorway. “Sorry about the mess, Gwain.” I gestured to the chaotic workshop around us. “I promise to clean up when I return.”
The blacksmith waved his hand impatiently. “Never mind that now, boy! Get a move on! I believe Camus Dred is owed a reckoning.”
“That he is,” I growled, “and I plan to deliver it.”
Then I hurried out the door after Cayla with Aurora hot on my heels.
The three of us managed to reach the stables as Captain Mayard and his men were mounting up. We had to make a detour to my room to pick up the fixed-frame revolver I had stowed in favor of my new top-break. I had wanted to make another one so I could have awesome, dual matching pistols, but I hadn’t had the time yet, and I’d rather have as many guns as possible available even if they weren’t all as efficient.
“Captain,” I called as I stumbled up beside his horse out of breath. “W-wait.” I bent over and placed my hands on my knees as I panted for breath. We had sprinted all the way from the castle to the gates of Eyton. It was all downhill, thankfully, but still.
“There is no time to wait,” Mayard snapped as he swung up into his horse’s saddle. “The town of Lindow is burning as we speak.”
“I know,” I gasped, and I straightened up with a wince. “We’ve come to help.”
“Then get on your infernal contraption,” he barked as he jerked his head toward the stone-encased Bobbie, “and follow us. Quickly!” Then his eyes skipped past me to the women beyond my shoulder, and he scowled. “Princess Balmier, you should be within the castle.”
“I am accompanying you to Lindow.” Her eyes burned with defiance, and her voice was as sharp as honed steel.
“Your father would have my head,” the red-haired soldier snapped. “I cannot allow you to ride with us into certain danger.”
“You let me ride across Cedis in search of help,” the princess argued with a scowl. “Alone I might add. You know I can hold my own, Norick. I cannot sit idly by and watch from the castle windows as my people suffer.”
Mayard gnashed his teeth and opened his mouth to most likely say no again, but then another soldier rode up beside him.
“The men are mounted and ready, Captain,” the soldier reported, and I noted that unlike the full suited Mayard, he wore only a chainmail shirt, a dented chest plate, and a helmet with rust along th
e edges.
The disparity between the wealth, and the armies, of Illaria and Cedis was alarming and disconcerting.
“Wait.” I frowned as I glanced at the soldiers around us. “Where are the weapons I made you a few days ago? They’ll be useful against the bandits.”
“My men did not have the time to train with them,” Mayard spat, “and I do not want unnecessary casualties if they are as dangerous and deadly as you say. We’ll make do with the weapons we have.” He rattled the sword sheathed at his hip and glared down at me.
I winced. That was fair. I had planned to have a demonstration with the captain and his men, but I had gotten caught up in my work with the animatrons, and I hadn't expected an attack so soon or so close to the capital.
“I apologize,” I said to Mayard with a dip of my head.
The captain snorted. “No need to apologize. I have defended this kingdom with the weapons of our forefathers for decades, and I will continue to do so until my dying breath.” Then he turned to the soldier who waited anxiously beside us. “Get the men in formation and sound the horn to open the gates.”
The soldier nodded and kicked his horse to follow his captain’s instructions.
“Are we good to go, too?” I asked Mayard as I started to inch back toward Bobbie 2.0.
The captain’s eyes darted from me to his princess and back again. “I do not condone this course of action, but I also do not have the time to argue with you.” He curled his gauntlet wrapped hand into a fist and jabbed a finger down at me. “You will watch over Princess Balmier, and if anything happens to her, it’ll be on your soul.”
“I won’t let Camus Dred and his men touch a single hair on her head,” I promised as I lifted up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
Mayard’s brows furrowed in confusion, but then he shook it off and yanked on his horse’s reins.
“Try to keep up,” he said to me in parting before to turned to his men. “Let’s move out!”
I watched as Mayard rode toward the gates of Eyton, and two dozen men on horseback followed in his wake. The commotion of the stamping and neighing horses, coupled with the clank of armor and swords, was nearly deafening, but I blocked it out and spun around to approach Bobbie.
I summoned up a tendril of magic and held my hand over the stone egg that encased my beloved mechanical steed. The rock cage rumbled for a moment before fissures began to form along its face. Then, with a sound like cracking thunder, the stone broke apart and tumbled to the ground where it dissolved back into dirt.
“Hop on,” I said to the women beside me as I gave Bobbie a quick once over. Everything seemed to be as I left it, even the two rifles that I had strapped along the frame below the saddlebags. I bent down and unhitched the long guns one at a time before I checked that their chambers were loaded.
“Here,” I said to Cayla as I untied a small sack from my belt and handed it to her. “This is the ammo for the rifles. I need you to be in charge of that and, when we get to Lindow, I’ll hand you one of the guns.”
“Me?” Cayla asked as she blinked in surprise. “I--”
“I know you haven’t had a proper training session,” I cut her off as I recalled my conversation with Mayard, “but you’ve built these guns with me from scratch, and you’ve watched me use them. I can’t operate Bobbie and fire one of those at the same time, but you know how they work, and you know how dangerous they are. Just put your finger on the trigger, make sure no one friendly is in front of you, and squeeze.”
“Okay. I will do my best.” Cayla pursed her lips but nodded all the same as she tucked the ammo into her… dress.
Shit. In the commotion, I had forgotten that the princess wasn’t exactly wearing the same outfit that we had journeyed to Cedis in. The skirts of her large purple dress dragged in the dirt, and I knew they were going to get caught up in Bobbie’s wheels.
Cayla noticed my gaze because her eyes dropped to her feet. I opened my mouth to say something, but the princess didn’t give me a chance before she grasped the skirts of her dress in both of her hands and pulled. The fabric tore loudly and came apart in giant clumps. When Cayla was done, the dress was in tatters, but it reached just above her knees.
“Let’s go,” she said firmly as she lifted her head and met my eyes squarely as if she dared me to say something.
I knew better than to contradict her though, so I only nodded.
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, and then the two of us turned back to the bike.
Aurora was already perched behind the handlebars, and I watched as she placed her hand against the ignition port and summoned up a bit of fire. Bobbie growled to life beneath her, and the half-elf smiled.
“I believe I’m beginning to like Bobbie as much as you, Mason,” the Ignis Mage said with a fierce grin as I slid onto the bike behind her.
“Then why don’t we show her a little love,” I replied with an equally sharp smile. “She’s probably been bored these last few days. We need to stretch her legs, metaphorically at least.”
Once Cayla sat down and wrapped her arms around me, I disengaged the brake, brought the kickstand up, and cranked my wrist back to gun the throttle. Bobbie snarled between my legs, eager to be unleashed, so I shifted her into gear and then we were off.
Mayard and his men had already exited the gate, but I could still see them on the horizon, their torches like fireflies against the dark plains outside of Eyton. We tore through the gate after them, and thankfully tonight was a full moon so that the road was at least partially illuminated before us. I made a mental note to figure out a way to give Bobbie some headlights later. Maybe channeling gems that Aurora could manipulate?
I shook away the speculation and forced myself to concentrate on the road ahead of me. My mind was still stuck in a crafting mentality. I needed to shift to fight mode and quickly. I could already see the fires of Lindow in the distance, and the low clouds reflected back the orange light and bathed the town in a hellish hue.
I gritted my teeth and squeezed Aurora’s hip tightly. The Ignis Mage got the hint and increased her output of flames so that Bobbie lurched beneath us with a roar and began to devour the distance between Mayard and us but, more importantly, between Camus Dred and us.
Within minutes we had caught up with the rear of Mayard’s forces. The horses immediately shied away from Bobbie’s noise. They stamped their hooves and tossed back their heads all while their eyes rolled widely in their sockets. I winced and signaled for Aurora to give us one last boost as I steered wide around the two dozen soldiers.
The horses were moving at a fast clip, spurred on by their riders, but my Bobbie was still faster, so I maneuvered us to the front of the column and pulled up alongside Mayard.
Even in the pale moonlight and sparse torchlight, I could tell the captain wanted to kill me with his eyes. If he had laser vision, he would have turned me to dust, but since he couldn’t do that, or reach me effectively or safely with his sword, he settled for glaring at me with the force of a thousand suns.
“Can’t you quiet that damn thing?” he shouted down at me as the horse tried to veer to the opposite side of the road. “Dred will hear us before we even reach Lindow.”
“Good,” I called back with a flash of bared teeth. “Let him and his men shit their pants! Besides, they already know we’re coming! Why else would they attack so close to the capital?”
Mayard scowled but couldn’t argue with my logic. He knew the bandits were waiting for us, too. His horse reared its head again, and I knew I needed to say my piece quickly before I caused a mass stampede.
“Let us go on ahead,” I yelled as I gestured to the rapidly approaching, fiery silhouette of Lindow. “We’ll root the bastards out, decimate their forces, and then you and your men can sweep in and thwart their retreat.”
“No,” Mayard shouted back, and then he jerked his head behind me. “The princess--”
“Is under my protection,” I cut in. “She’ll be fine, but this is the only way we’re
going to save the most amount of people and put the greatest number of evil bastards in the dirt! I have the superior weaponry, so I’m going to use it. Get behind us.”
The captain looked like he wanted to argue, but even over the roar of my engine and the commotion of the horses, we could begin to make out screams floating across the prairie. Lindow was perhaps less than a few miles off now, and I could already smell the smoke on the wind.
“Fine,” Mayard spat as he struggled to keep his horse from bolting away from us. “My men and I will follow you, and we will surround the town to help the fleeing people of Lindow and stop any bandits from escaping.”
I nodded in response and squeezed Aurora’s hip again, but as she kicked Bobbie into high gear, Mayard raised his voice one last time.
“Flynt!” he bellowed as we began to pull away. “Give Dred hell for me!”
I grinned in response, even though he couldn’t see it, and then we lurched forward and began to pull away from the king’s host. I turned around to face forward again, and I set my jaw as I faced the burning town.
“I’m coming for you, Dred,” I growled into the wind, and then I felt Cayla clench her arms around me. I couldn’t see the princess’s face, but I imagined it was even more determined and pissed than mine. These were her people after all.
And we were going to save them, no matter what these bastards threw at us.
“They’re going to be waiting for us,” I shouted into Aurora’s ear as we rocketed toward Lindow. “I want you to propel us as far as you can into the town, and then we’ll jump off Bobbie. Cayla and I will pick off bandits as we go, and I want you to focus on banking those fires!”
“Understood,” Aurora yelled back, and her voice was nearly snatched by the wind.
Plan set, I used my thighs to stabilize myself as I reached down with one hand and yanked my top break revolver from its holster. The moonlight glinted off the finished metal, and pure excitement and adrenaline began to burn off the last of my fatigue.
I couldn’t wait to kill some bandits with my new toy.
