Metal mage 5, p.1
Metal Mage 5, page 1
Chapter 1
“Actually …” Pindor started, and the young mage shifted awkwardly in the snow. “I was kind of thinking you might not need me here?”
I wasn’t really surprised. The army had begun to load up their things this morning and were nearly ready to board the train cars that waited outside of Thrungrig’s mine. They’d be traveling back to Cedis and Serin, and I already knew two young and beautiful mages planned to join them.
Pindor had followed Deli and Mina everywhere after we’d left the city of Aurum, and around the time I noticed this, I honestly expected him to tell me he wasn’t going to stay to help with the tracks in Orebane after all.
What kid in his right mind would choose hard labor over women who shot flames from their fingertips?
“Let me guess,” I said with a grin, “you’re following those pretty girls back south and leaving me high and dry?” The kid looked mortified and ready to apologize, but I chuckled and waved him off. “I’m fucking with you. You should go with them.”
“Really?” he asked uneasily.
“Of course. Have I ever been the guy to brush off the beautiful women in my life?”
A smile twitched at the corner of Pindor’s mouth.
“Exactly,” I replied, “and I’m no hypocrite.”
Pindor finally relaxed a bit as he glanced over his shoulder. Aurora, Shoshanne, and Cayla had rifles propped on their shoulders as they laughed and began to make their way down the path to the field where we’d built the Warwolves.
The kid smiled. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” I huffed, and I braced myself to scoop Big Guy up into my arms.
“Because you say the word and I’ll stay, really. If there’s anything you need or if you want me to come along to Nalnora, I can do that. It’s not a big deal. I kinda thought I might go south, but I don’t need to, honest.” Pindor finally took a breath and I worked hard not to smirk.
I had just gotten Big Guy out of the locomotive and tried to steady him on the snowy path so I could face the kid directly. “Listen,” I told him, “you’re a hell of a mage, and it’s been an honor to see you come into your bad ass ways. But I have no intention of needlessly signing you on to some epic quest. We haven’t even heard back from the elves, so who knows when we’ll be heading to Nalnora, and either way, you’re a talented guy. All three of you are talented. There’s no sense plodding around in the mountains with us when there’s a whole city waiting for you back home. Tell Wyresus I say hello while you’re there.”
Pindor’s eyes widened. “I don’t think that would go very well … didn’t you tell him to fuck off last time you saw him?”
I smirked as I hoisted Big Guy up into my arms again. “Eh, he’s probably over it,” I said with a shrug. “Now go on, and tell your ladies you’re coming with them.”
Pindor’s grin widened when the words ‘your ladies’ dropped from my lips. “Thanks, Mason,” he finally said, and he was suddenly solemn. “Seriously. You didn’t have to let me tag along all this way and--”
“No,” I interrupted, “I didn’t have to, but I’m glad I did. I meant what I said, you’re a hell of a mage. I look forward to seeing what you’ve learned by the time I make it back south again.”
I turned toward Thrungrig’s workshop, and the kid sent me an enthusiastic wave before he sprinted back up the path toward the train.
Inside the workshop, the forging fires blazed while the dwarves who manned them bustled around the vats of melted steel. In the three days since the celebration in the capital, they’d already managed to form a hundred tracks and ties, and even though their system looked chaotic and dangerous, I had to admit it worked well. No one was scalded or melted by boiling metal, and it seemed like the stout miners took naturally to the work of laying rails. They’d swelled with pride when Thrungrig told them they’d be laying the whole line throughout Orebane.
Now, Dorinick and Thrungrig were stooped at the workshop table with Stan between them as they scribbled on a parchment that showed the path the train would take. They’d argued for an hour this morning over whether it’d be an insult to skip by this mine or another along the way, but it seemed like they finally hit on an agreement.
“Just go through the damn peak,” Dorinick growled. “It’ll save twenty miles, and the eastern mine can build a path up to the station. It won’t kill’ em to travel a few miles to get to it.”
Thrungrig grunted, but I heard him scratch out a portion of the map a little harder than necessary. “Aye, and the first Naga we meet in that tunnel is yours to deal with,” he promised Dorinick.
The general seemed well pleased with the idea. “Deal,” he said as a ruthless grin came to his face. “It’s been a while since I had the pleasure.”
“Those Warwolves have gone to your head,” I called over as I set Big Guy down with a metallic thunk. “Don’t go getting too big for your breeches. If memory serves, those Naga could fit you down their throat in one gulp.”
Dorinick waved me off, and the two came over with their eyes glued to the metal warrior in front of me. “You make me one of these, and I won’t have to worry about it,” the general mused as he looked over the construction of the machine’s limbs.
“Beautiful, isn’t he?” I grinned. “I’m gonna try out that channeling gem you gave me in this guy. Hopefully, he doesn’t kill us all.”
The two dwarves immediately froze in their study at the sight of the sword rigged on Big Guy’s arm, and I noticed the noise at the forges had ceased. Everyone was turned around with wide eyes, and I chuckled at the looks on their faces.
“It was a joke,” I assured them. “He’s a good guy. I mean, he was the last time he was up and running … ” I trailed off and hid my smirk as I turned my back to them all.
Big Guy stood as completely still as he’d been since we’d ended the fight with Camus Dred, and I was a little bummed out to think of it. Honestly, I missed the guy, even though it’d nearly killed me to keep him going through the battle. He’d proved to be well worth the effort.
Now, as I stood in front of him and admired the great shield on his chest, I was more than eager to wake him up again. It was like I’d left my buddy passed out and alone in the car for too long. I felt guilty and ready for some shenanigans to make up for it.
Stan took a running leap from Thrungrig’s shoulder to Big Guy’s arm, and I watched him scale the metal work until he was perched on the machine’s shoulder.
“Excited to see your big brother again?” I asked the metal man, and Stan nodded enthusiastically. Then he pretended he held a sword in one hand and gave an impressive show of his fencing prowess. I chuckled as he teetered and nearly fell off.
“It was pretty much exactly like that,” I told him, and then I reached to remove the giant shield from its mount on Big Guy’s front. The thing weighed more than I remembered, but I braced myself and managed to get it removed and propped on the ground of the workshop. All of the dwarves had given up the forges by now and had gathered a few feet away to watch.
I dug the channeling gem out of my pocket, and my magic surged as my fingers met with the cold diamond. Even in the dim cave, it glinted brightly and seemed to give off its own glow, and as I turned it carefully in my hand, I could see the strange light within it catch on each expertly formed facet. It was cut into a cushioned shape, but the edges weren’t smoothed like most gems, so they felt nearly as sharp as a razor when I ran my fingers along them. This was definitely too fine a piece to hurl from a catapult.
Excitement built up in my chest, and a grin spread across my face as I raised it up to gauge the best placement. The copper wiring that I’d essentially used as a nervous system throughout the robot’s body all converged in the center of its torso, so I figured this would be the best place to put the channeling gem. As I hovered above the point where they all met, I felt the same instinctive nudge as I had when I first put the gem in Bobbie, and I knew I’d found the proper point.
I took a deep breath before I let my magic embed the gem into the metal, and then I stepped away and waited. There was a long moment of silence while we all looked at the still machine. Then Stan gave a start and wrapped his arms around the side of Big Guy’s head like he was hugging a giant boulder.
Suddenly, the arm of the robot lifted itself and held out a hand for the little metal man to step onto. He brought Stan in front of his face and held him there like he was looking at him even without eyes. Then he raised his other arm with a single finger extended. Stan gave a happy little hop and raised his own arm to give Big Guy a high five.
“No fucking way,” I chuckled. The two turned from each other when I spoke, and they both gave a little wave, so I waved back. “Hey there, Big Guy. It’s good to see you up and running again.”
The robot sent me a quick salute, and Dorinick let out a low whistle.
“That’s something you don’t see every day,” he mumbled to Thrungrig.
Stan put his arms to the side and made little windmill motions, and Big Guy copied him with his free arm. Then the little metal man stomped his feet, and his big brother tried to rock side to side on his wheels, only the floor of the cave under him cracked loudly as he did, and Stan quickly waved for him to stop.
“Maybe we should have done this in the field,” I mused, and as I turned to look behind me, I saw the dwarves had taken several steps back. Now, they stood wide eyed with their backs flush against the large track molds in the center of the workshop.
Thrungrig cleared his throat and eyed the loaded sh elving all around his workshop. “That’s probably best,” he said with a nod.
I closed my eyes and sent my magic out of myself, and the first thing I found was how stoked Stan was. I smirked and reached further and realized I could feel a familiarity in the air around me. Without needing to use my own energy to wake Big Guy, I was able to get a sense of him apart from myself, and I was struck with the strength of his presence. It felt the same as it had, but different, like when you put on a coat you used to wear all the time but haven’t in a while. I was very aware of the division between my power and his, as well as the distinct connection between us.
In the same way that I could sense Stan’s “feelings,” I could sense Big Guy’s, too. He was alert and eager, and as I sent my own intentions into the void around us, I felt his own rise to match them. When I opened my eyes, Big Guy turned his wheels toward the entrance of the cave, lifted his arm to let Stan mount his shoulder, and then waited diligently.
I raised my eyebrows to the two dwarves beside me. They were struck dumb and only stared back.
I smirked. “Right this way,” I said merrily, before I led the way through the hallway and out onto the path. Behind me, Big Guy’s wheels whirred across the stone, and the group of dwarves muttered excitedly to one another as they followed a few paces back.
I was practically bouncing with each step by the time we made it to the field, and the three women we found there abandoned their target practice when they saw us coming.
“No shit!” Aurora laughed as she jogged over to lay a kiss on my cheek.
I tucked the half-elf under my arm while Cayla and Shoshanne circled the robot with sparkling eyes.
“Can he do everything on his own then?” Cayla asked excitedly.
“Well, let’s find out.” I grinned.
We all stepped back a ways, and I began to focus my energy on what I wanted him to do, but I realized it would take very little effort on my part. Big Guy moved before I’d even pictured my intention fully, and just as Stan did when it came to comforting the women, he took to the task without me having to ask.
Big Guy rolled forward into the field and approached the trunk of a large pine. Then, with a loud chink of metal, the sword on his arm shot out of its holster. It was wielded high above the robot’s head before it swiftly struck the trunk with practiced and extremely accurate swipes, and chunks of bark flew with every hit. Big Guy even repositioned himself and came at the tree from a different direction while he flipped around in tight movements, and the sound of the heavy blows he delivered echoed across the clearing.
Finally, the trunk gave a deep groan, and the robot retracted its sword and backed away just as the tree slowly tipped, then crashed hard across the ground.
The dwarves gave a cheer behind me, and Shoshanne clapped her hands enthusiastically. All I could do was grin like an idiot. I felt like I’d watched my son throw a kid in karate class or something. Big Guy returned to us, and Stan had his hand affectionately propped on the giant’s cheek. He gave him a couple pats as if to say, “That’ll do,” and Cayla giggled as she joined them.
“I agree,” she purred. “He’s absolutely wonderful.” The princess tipped herself onto her toes and laid a light kiss on Big Guy’s metallic cheek, and when she pulled away, we all waited to see what would happen.
The robot slowly turned his sightless face toward the woman, then he lowered his head and sent a bow her direction.
Cayla sent me an amused look. “He’s such a gentleman,” she giggled.
Stan waved his arms before he crossed them stubbornly, and the princess smiled and offered him her palm.
“Don’t worry,” she assured the little metal man as he hopped into her hand. “You’re still my number one, but that brother of yours is certainly impressive. There’s a lot of you in him.”
Even without a face, I could tell Stan was bursting with pride, but he shrugged casually instead as he climbed onto Cayla’s shoulder.
Big Guy shook his head.
“Are you making him do that?” Aurora laughed.
“No,” I snickered, “but the resemblance is uncanny, isn’t it?”
Watching the two metal men interact was my proudest moment, and to see the way they took after me in odd ways was more than endearing, especially the bow. In a weird way, it was like looking in a mirror. Sort of.
I decided to spend the afternoon with Big Guy so I could test the extent of his abilities and get a feel for how he’d function with the channeling gem. Stan joined the women in their target practice, and from what I could see, he worked nearly as hard as Cayla to teach Shoshanne how to shoot the rifle.
The Aer Mage was bold enough to give it her all, but the recoil gave her a hell of a time. Every shot flew three feet too high, but within an hour she’d begun to show improvement. I got the sense Big Guy found it amusing as well, and I had to call his attention back to his own practice more than once.
He’d beaten me in the last three rounds, and the strength he met my sword with made my arm ache from the wrist to the elbow. I’d had very little practice fencing since I first came to Illaria, but the chance to come up against such an intense opponent was something I wasn’t about to miss out on. It was like having a trainer that didn’t bother with obnoxious catch phrases to keep you motivated. The motivation came from not wanting to get my own arms cut off.
Plus, Thrungrig lent me his own sword, and the weight of the authentic dwarven hilt in my hand felt monumental. I didn’t know if any mage had ever wielded dwarven steel before, but there was something ridiculously epic about it. The glinting metalwork of the hilt looped elaborately around my grip, and the stout blade whipped through the air with a satisfying sound I’d only ever heard in movies.
In real life, it was way better. The clash of my own steel against Big Guy’s continued for well over an hour, while the crack of the rifles echoed around us, occasionally mingled with the laugh of Shoshanne as she was nearly thrown off her feet.
Haragh came into the clearing as the sun began to lower toward the horizon, and I let him go a round against Big Guy. The half-ogre clearly knew a thing or two about swords, but he still lost against the great machine and laughed heartily as the metal man offered him a dignified bow at the end of it.
“He’s got some class, this one,” Haragh chuckled as he handed the dwarven sword over to me. “Don’t even mind gettin’ my ass handed to me, though I probably should. He’s been awake for less than a day. I started training when I was six … ”
“Seriously?” I asked.
The half-ogre nodded as he dropped to a log at my side. “Aye. The ogres pride themselves on bein’ able to rip a bastard to pieces with their bare hands, but sword work is sort of like good manners. Without it, we’re just a bunch of brutes, really.”
I chuckled as I processed this. “So, you don’t technically need a sword at all, but you make it a point to be good with them anyways?”
Haragh shrugged. “You’ve got a revolver on your hip, and you’re still swingin’ the damn thing.”
He had a point, so I sent him a broad grin. “Damn right, swords are fucking awesome.”
“There ye’ have it,” he said with another shrug. “This one knows, don’t ye’ Big Guy?”
We looked to the robot in front of us, and to my surprise he looked like he’d followed along with the whole conversation. The sword swiftly retracted before the giant propped his metal hands where his hips would be, and he gave a curt nod.
I raised my eyebrows. “There you have it,” I said and returned the nod. “Ready to go again?”
The sword immediately shot out, and I quickly raised my own.
While I went at it with Big Guy, Pindor appeared at the edge of the field and made his way over. He grinned from ear to ear as he watched the sparring match and cheered loudly when Big Guy brought his sword within a centimeter of my neck. The metal arm remained frozen there and poised to lay a deadly blow.
I sighed and dropped my aching arm. “Four to zero,” I chuckled as Big Guy lowered his sword as well.
“That was amazing,” Pindor informed me, and I couldn’t argue.
I’d grown up with movies of robots with automatic weapons, but there was something about the way Big Guy could deliver blow after blow with his sword that just did it for me. It was like watching a samurai master who never tired out and never even broke a sweat. Him and his sword moved with perfect precision, and I didn’t know if it was the connection we shared or not, but he seemed to anticipate every one of my strikes.
