Metal mage 5, p.3
Metal Mage 5, page 3
“You’re a fool,” he informed me.
“How do you reckon?” I asked uneasily.
“Because you’re clearly gonna go right ahead with this plan of yours and end up murdered or eaten in Nalnora, that’s all.” The dwarf shrugged as he looked me over, but then he sighed, turned toward the mine, and waved for me to follow. “Don’t matter what I think though. I’ll load up that sidecar for ye’. Put some steel, a bit of gold, maybe some silver if ye’ like. You’re a talented man, but you could use a bit of improvement on the finer details. Silver plays well and adds a measure of authenticity to the finished product, just sayin’. Either way, there’s not much of any type of metal in the south east. The soil’s too rich, and the rocks are too soft.”
“Seriously?” I asked as we all made our way to the large mine beside the workshop. “That’d be amazing. I hadn’t even thought of it.”
“Aye,” the dwarf sighed. “I figured ye’ might be used to the miner’s life. It’s an easy way to get into, but if you’re planning on usin’ that magic of yours in Nalnora, you’re gonna need to bring your own materials.” Thrugrig came to the long line of carts that flanked the walls of the giant cave and began to root around the contents. He pulled chunks of metal from all different carts and used his keen eye and stout hands to decide which would be useful to me or not.
I’d tried to figure out what his system was since I’d first met the dwarf, but the way he could read the rock and metal around him with no magic still baffled me. His fingers danced across the surface of everything, and without any visible sense to it, he was apparently able to discern quality, density, and any other deciding factor.
The pile of chosen bits became larger and larger, and Cayla came forward to nudge me in the side. “What about Big Guy?” she asked as she motioned to the growing pile of metal.
The arrival of the letter from King Temin had completely distracted me from the events of the morning, and I realized I’d never be able to fit Big Guy in the sidecar with it stocked full of the metal and our travel supplies. I didn’t want to leave him behind, especially now that he functioned independently, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized the unknown elements of the trip probably meant less would be more.
“We’ll have to leave Big Guy behind,” I finally answered.
Stan suddenly appeared over the edge of Cayla’s pocket, and I sent the little metal man an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, buddy,” I told him, “but we’re gonna have to travel kind of light on this next one. Besides, he might be useful here.”
Thrungrig’s head popped up over the edge of a cart heaped with gold. “The Big Guy is it?” he asked, and I didn’t miss the excitement in his voice.
“That’s the one,” I chuckled. “I don’t suppose you could use a pair of metal hands to help out with the tracks a bit while we’re gone? I won’t have room to bring him along, but I don’t want to take the channeling gem out now that he’s awake and all. It might hurt his feelings.”
Aurora rolled her eyes at me. “You really think that hunk of metal could get his feelings hurt?”
I was about to respond, but Cayla’s giggle caught my attention. We turned to see Stan with his arms crossed, and his faceless head somehow looked incredibly insulted.
Aurora smiled and walked over to him. “Sorry, little guy. I didn’t mean it. It’s just he’s so big and--”
“Hey,” I cut in soberly, “big guys hurt, too.” I challenged the woman with a level stare, and Stan nodded curtly as he climbed up to Cayla’s shoulder.
The half-elf tried her best not to smirk at the sight of us, and I had to chuckle.
“Fine,” I finally said. “I have no idea if Big Guy cares, but he might. And if he does, I want him to know we really value him and want him to feel like he’s part of the family. He’s just woken up, it’s a big day for him.”
Aurora grinned and shook her head. “You’re a sweetheart, you know that? Big Guy is lucky to have you.”
I gave her a smug little smile. “Thank you for acknowledging it,” I said with a wink. “Just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“We’re on the same page,” the half-elf assured me as she sidled up to give me a kiss. “You’re worried about hurting your killing machine’s feelings and want us to be respectful of his big metal heart that might or might not give a shit either way.”
Before I could respond, Big Guy’s wheels whirred along the passage from the workshop where I’d left him after our morning sparring practice. He came to a stop beside us, and Stan climbed around the back of Cayla’s neck to get to her other shoulder.
Big Guy held out his arm so the little metal man could climb up it and plant himself on the giant’s shoulder before he turned his wheels toward the pile of metal. I sensed he was curious what we were up to, so I cleared my throat and joined him at his side.
“Hey Big Guy,” I started. “We got some news this morning … turns out we’re heading to Nalnora today, but I don’t think we’ll be able to bring you along.”
Big Guy’s head turned toward me, and I swore his metal shoulders sank an inch, but I might have imagined it. Then his sightless face glanced down at the floor of the cave, and his hand raised up to fidget with the sword mounted on his arm.
“Aww hey … ” I tried, and I gave him a reassuring pat on the back. “I know. I had a lot of fun this morning, too, but don’t worry. We won’t be gone long and as soon as I’m back, we’re getting right back at it.”
The metal head didn’t look up, so I glanced to the women behind us, and Aurora actually looked pretty bummed for Big Guy.
Shoshanne sent me a little smile and gestured toward Thrungrig.
“And hey” I continued enthusiastically, “Thrungrig’s got a lot of work ahead of him here, so I thought maybe you’d be able to help him out for me?”
Big Guy’s head shot up, and he looked to the dwarf who was still perched excitedly at the edge of a mound of gold.
“Aye,” he said with a wide grin. “There’s tracks to forge and load and cart off, and then there’s the layin’ of the rail, and I could probably use a bit of help with the lumber out back as well, if ye’ don’t mind a bit of axe work … ”
Big Guy gave a few quick nods, and he turned to face me before he gave a sharp salute with his giant metal arm.
“Hell yeah,” I chuckled. “I knew I could count on you. Now, try not to hurt anyone with that sword while you’re working, and I want you to listen carefully to Thrungrig, I’m leaving him in charge. But most importantly … have fun buddy. This is a new thing for you, I want you to really embrace it. See what you’re capable of.” I clapped him on the shoulder, and Stan hopped up to wrap his arms around the metal man’s cheek.
Big Guy leaned his head slightly toward his little brother before I lifted my hand for Stan to step onto.
“We’re gonna load up and get ready. Why don’t you--” I started, but Big Guy gave another quick salute and turned to roll himself to Thrungrig’s side.
He halted there and remained at the ready, and the dwarf suddenly looked like a little boy on Christmas morning. His smile stretched from ear to ear, and he awkwardly held out a hand to the giant metal machine.
“Pleasure to be workin’ with ye’” he said, and he straightened up to stand a little taller.
When Big Guy shook his hand, the dwarf practically bounced on his toes.
I laughed and turned back to the women, who all smiled on sweetly at the sight of the two. “We’ll be back as soon as we’re all packed up,” I called to the dwarf, but he had already begun to give Big Guy the grand tour, and I chuckled as I heard him modestly inform the machine that he owned the best stock in Orebane.
We headed back up the path toward the kitchen, and Aurora wrapped her arm in mine. “Well, that was almost heartbreaking,” she admitted with a sigh. “I hope he’ll be alright … ”
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “He’s really looking forward to being useful around here, I can sense it.”
Stan nodded from my shoulder and tucked himself against the edge of my neck. “I know buddy,” I sighed. “I’m gonna miss him, too.”
The women giggled at us, but I didn’t care. They couldn’t understand the connection we shared. Though I honestly couldn’t, either.
It was the same way I felt with Bobbie, where I could sense when she was excited to get going or pissed I’d left her on a cold train in a deserted cave. Big Guy and Stan and me, we were a team, and I wondered if they knew how much I cared about them. As I thought this, Stan leaned his little head against me, and I grinned.
“You get it,” I muttered to him as we turned to make our way through the long hallways of the mountain.
Shoshanne headed for the infirmary to pack the essentials for our trip, and Aurora put herself in charge of assembling our modest armory. Cayla and I managed to get the drunken dwarves into action, and within an hour we had enough food packed for the journey south.
Haragh, Jovian, and Zerla were the only three mages who stayed behind after the train headed back to Illaria, and they were more than happy to stay on with the dwarves and do the terrain work for the tracks. The older couple had made several dwarven friends at the celebration in Aurum, and Zerla bought a mound of furs which she’d already begun to piece together into a decent coat for her husband.
Haragh didn’t mind life in the mountains at all, but he didn’t look too pleased with the arrangement all the same as he helped me load up the sidecar.
“Better be on your toes down there,” he warned. “Remember to steer clear of the thorns, and don’t get into any water that makes you feel any kind of euphoric just lookin’ at it.”
I smirked at the half-ogre’s superstitions, but it was probably decent advice regardless. “I won’t,” I assured him.
“And Aurora showed me that map. It’s complete shit,” he continued, “so get a real one once you find a town down there. I wouldn’t trust those little dots, either. For all you know, they’re sending you off into the middle of nowhere.”
It was endearing he worried as much as he did, but I clapped the half-ogre on the shoulder with a broad grin. “Don’t worry. I’ve thought of all of this,” I informed him.
“Oh good,” he returned, and he relaxed a bit. “As long as ye’ know it’s all lookin’ pretty bad so far. But if you keep a rifle in that princess’s hand, you’re probably set, to be honest.”
“No shit,” I chuckled.
My women emerged from the mountain as I finished loading up the last of the essentials, and Dorinick came up from the lower path with a bit of rolled parchment.
“Here,” he grunted, and he handed the roll over for me to study it. “You don’t want to waste your time going back down through Garioch. This map will get you to Nalnora through eastern Orebane. Should save you quite a few miles.”
I unrolled the parchment, and my appreciation for the dwarves doubled instantly. Not only was the map of Orebane clearly labeled, but it even had little upside-down triangles that varied in size to distinguish between the prominent peaks we’d pass along the way.
“See? This is a fucking map.” I grinned.
Dorinick furrowed his brows up at me. “Well … yeah. That’s what I said.”
“Never mind,” I replied. “Just know I love your map. It’s a really good map, honestly. I don’t suppose you have one like it of Nalnora?”
The dwarf snorted. “Think I’ve set foot in that overgrown mess?” He shook his head and shifted to remove the sheath on his belt. “Here, better have this too.”
To my shock, he held out his own sword to me, but I hesitated to take it. “Are you serious?” I asked as I tried not to let my eyes pop out of my skull.
“Aye,” he said with a shrug. “I saw ye’ practicin’ earlier. It’ll do ye’ good to have more than just them guns down there.”
I almost reached out to take the beautiful hilt in hand, but then I hesitated again. “But … it’s your sword,” I muttered.
“It’s one of my swords,” the dwarf corrected. “It’s a good one, mind, but not my best. Go on, take it.”
I didn’t need any more convincing.
The weight of the weapon was unbelievably satisfying in my hand, and I let out a low whistle as I turned the intricate hilt around in the sunlight. The silver filigree glinted and twisted in a series of elaborate loops that ended where a deep blue sapphire lay embedded in the handle. As I looked more closely, I could see there were dwarven letters etched into the metalwork beneath it, and I looked over to the general.
“What do these letters mean?” I asked him, although my mind had already raced through a dozen epic sayings about war and honor and death and justice.
Dorinick shrugged. “My initials,” he said unceremoniously.
“Oh.” I nodded. “That’s cool.” I cleared my throat and tied the sheath to my own belt, then I turned around as three beautiful women emerged from the mountain and waited beside Bobbie.
Cayla had my favorite leather and chain combo on, and Aurora and Shoshanne ditched their mage’s robes for snug body suits made of the dwarves’ signature boiled leather. Shoshanne’s was a rich brown that matched her warm complexion well, and Aurora’s was a blackish green that made her emerald eyes all the more mesmerizing.
Their smooth and shapely thighs were completely bare down to their knee-high boots, and the scandalous ensemble they’d found for themselves almost distracted from their deadly weaponry. Almost.
Cayla wore a revolver on her hip and a rifle strapped to her back, and Aurora’s sword was secured tautly at her waist, with her dagger sheathed in a leather thigh strap. Shoshanne carried a single dagger thrust in the top of her boot, but I made a mental note to keep searching for the right weapon for the caramel beauty.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I had time to pin each of them against the wall of a cave before we headed out, but it’d probably be poor form to miss the meeting with the elves on account of my libido.
Still, they looked fiercely sexy as they stood in waiting beside the motorcycle, and I pitied anyone foolish enough to let their thighs distract them for even a moment. A blink of an eye and the poor bastards would be shot, gutted, and burnt to a crisp by the vicious band of beauties.
Gods, how did I get so lucky?
Cayla curled her lip as my eyes dragged hungrily across their curves, and Aurora lifted a slender leg to mount Bobbie.
“Defender Flynt,” she purred form her place behind the handlebars.
I grinned, mounted behind her, and firmly tucked the half-elf between my legs. Cayla perched herself at my back with soft giggle, and Shoshanne cupped the princess’s waist in her hands just as Bobbie roared to life beneath us.
The dwarves and the Terra Mages gathered outside the workshop to see us off, and I sent Big Guy a salute as he rolled himself up to Thrungrig’s side.
The metal man returned the gesture, and the dwarf grinned proudly as Boobie revved her engine and took off down the snowy path.
Chapter 3
Dorinick’s map took us down the lower path near the mines and wound sharply through the overlapping rocky ravines. Bobbie zig zagged around the boulders that jutted out and formed the floor of the entire mountain range, and as we made our way east, I could tell by the obsidian that the path slowly took us southward.
Angry black flecks glinted amongst the granite and snow, and the sheets slowly became broader until whole walls of obsidian flew past as we sped along the path. It was a thin path, but distinct, and it was marked every so often with giant piles of boulders that forced us to turn the right way and led us directly along the course marked on Dorinick’s map.
As we travelled southward, the obsidian wasn’t the only thing that changed. The snow clinging to every peak in the Draconis Mountains began to slide from the cliffs as the sun dipped down in the west and hit the face of the mountains head on. The trees’ heavy limbs bowed under the weight of the snow for several miles, but now they sprang up in a dense green against the shimmering black of the obsidian.
We also heard running water for the first time in what felt like weeks, and snow melt poured in along the rocks as the narrow crevice on the ravine began to widen. A small creek drifted along our left side for many miles, and I didn’t know when it happened, but eventually I looked over to find it had grown substantially bigger. The creek had become a river that roared with white water as it crashed over chunks of obsidian, and the shimmering black shards seemed to rise up all over the place like deadly spikes.
The air became damper as the noise of the river almost drowned out the roar of Bobbie’s engine, and just as the last of the snow disappeared and the sun glowed a warm orange in the western sky, I realized we must be nearly to the border of Nalnora.
The trees shifted from pine to oak, and the shards of obsidian smoothed back into sheets that finally disappeared altogether. The path became soft with a moist black dirt just as we turned sharply and found ourselves riding along the foothills of the mountain range. I glanced over my shoulder and could barely make out the frozen peaks we’d left behind, but the dim grey mountains near the border towered up to the sky and quickly blocked out any view of the northern lands.
I’d only studied the map Dorinick gave us for a brief moment, but with the image of it in my mind, Bobbie easily led us in the direction we wanted to go. There were no signs or fences marking the Nalnoran border, but judging by the sudden warmth in the air, I knew we must be further south than Garioch, and probably just within the elven lands.
I was surprised to find the path we’d followed continued past this point. It thinned to no wider than a foot across while the foliage on either side of us gradually thickened. First, there were dense grasses with slender stalks topped with soft pink clusters of seeds. Then the grasses became dotted with ferns that curled into elegant tendrils at the tips of their fronds.
Bobbie was able to barrel through the thickening foliage for nearly an hour, but by the time the ferns became tall enough to reach past our shoulders, the sun had dimmed almost completely, and Bobbie slowed to a crawl as the fronds whipped across our arms and thighs.
