The Gadgeteer Box Set

by Gin Hollan

  How far along the mountains was this cave? she wondered, beginning to plan. She wouldn’t be able to hike it in a few days, she knew. She’d have to get past the guards from this country into her own, then talk her way past her own country’s guards into the Blastborn side.

  She stopped and gently lifted Marble out of the satchel. Arabeth checked her over, heart in her throat as she worried over her a moment. She seemed fine, which was good. She’d have to walk, forgoing her shoulder perch. Marble was small, but the extra eight pounds would add up over time. Walking, she could catch the odd mouse along the way and her food supply would last longer.

  "Let's go, Marble," she rubbed the fox behind an ear and stood again.

  Checking the sky, Arabeth wished she had a sun to guide her. She needed to go east. Turning to the right, she hoped that would take her east.

  A mental inventory reminded her that on this side of the mountain range, she was mapless and in enemy territory. Her only food was the dried chicken and dehydrated fruit in her bag. She had no water.

  If she could find her way to a city with one of the underground transports, she could get home quickly and undetected. She had to choose. Follow the mountain and look for a tunnel, or risk taking the next road she found and hope it led to a city.

  The odds of finding a way back to the other side were better than finding a checkerboard housing area in some city, if other transports used the same housing pattern for recognition. She didn't know. The biggest problem was that she'd need water soon, and there may well be a stream along the way, but in a city she'd have no trouble getting provisions.

  Odds of finding a way back to the other side were better than finding a checkerboard housing area, if other transports used the same housing pattern for recognition. She didn't know. The problem was that she'd need water soon, and there may well be a stream along the way, but in a city she'd have no trouble getting provisions.

  There was one flaw to that idea – her money was foreign. She'd be identified and caught before she even had a chance to take a sip.

  It seemed a hike through the woods, hoping for a tunnel and a stream, was her only option. She needed to find one before it got dark out, or a safe place to wait for dawn.

  Rummaging through her satchel, she looked for something that could act as a makeshift water carrier. There was an empty water bladder in the bottom, but it was small.

  Stories of monsters and beasts from her childhood started to crowd in at the edge of her mind. Sam’s fault, mostly. Hopefully he was alright. And Melanie. And Howard.

  For now, Arabeth had to think about her own survival. Her only blade was a utility knife used for simple tasks, not chopping wood for fires, or cutting through roots to make trapper’s rope. She was about to find out just how good the steel of her homeland was.

  A thought struck her. She was from a family of spies, whether they thought she was up to the job or not. Maybe she could be useful on this side of the hill.

  Her heart jolted in her chest, causing her to step back. She could find civilization, make contact, scout it out. Getting home would be faster if she found a checkerboard, anyway. It might even be safer. She looked out at the path leading away from the mountain.

  Step one - break the big goal down into smaller steps. The first thing was to look like a local. Then she'd sell a couple of her gadgets for food and shelter. She had some interesting things in her bag. After that, she'd have a day or so to find this region's checker board. While she did, she'd learn about the region and bring that information home.

  They'd stopped this incursion. Her city was safe again. She could take anything life threw at her, as long as that were true. She was good as a bounty hunter, even if the job didn’t last long. She would find who sent that man, and she would find a way to keep them from ever trying again.

  The sun had set, though. Tomorrow would be soon enough to start. It would have to be. She looked up into the darkness, expecting stars and a moon. Behind her, the low rumble and slid of debris filling the cave continued, but ahead there was a shine, not unlike aurora borealis, but on the horizon and with all the colours of the rainbow.

  Blues and greens twisted and played over the treetops, occasionally joined by a red or purple.

  Marble was safe. She was safe Now they just had to get home again.

  The End

  Thank you for reading this story!

  I’d love to hear what you thought of it, and invite you to find me on:

  Twitter - https://twitter.com/gin_hollan or

  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GAHollan/.

  If you’d like to leave a review, that would also be fantastic! Views help other people decide if this story is something they’d like.

  You can check out my other stories at my website: http://www.ginhollan.com.

  My stories are clean, exciting, and sometimes romantic - even when I write Fantasy, SciFi, or Steampunk.

  A little about me:

  Raised in the wilds of central British Columbia, Canada by a mother who, when she was young, literally hunted for her family's supper, and a father who daily went into the bowels of the earth to maintain the machines that worked to reveal its inner treasures, an active imagination was not only healthy, it was essential.

  Roaming daily amongst the feral books that lined the paths of an almost mobile library, this imagination was fanned into a frenzy at times, and lulled into a coma at others. It became her goal to write the books that wake people up, that ignite imagination.

  Armed with what little she knew about the world, she joined the Canadian Armed Forces and went off to slay dragons. Four years later, the nature of the job brought her to choose between raising children and raising arms, and the children won. Thankfully.

  As they gained independence, she was step-by-step lured more fully into the fictive dream, and compelled to give solid form to a variety of hopes, temptations, and nightmares.

  Hope you like a quick pace and a bit of distraction. There are more stories coming. ;-)

  The Crystal Curse

  By Gin Hollan

  Dedicated to my mom, Dixie.

  Thank you for your gentle wisdom and endless encouragement.

  And

  Everyone who believes adventures make life happen. You're amazing.

  All rights reserved. Except where permitted by law, this book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the author.

  © 2018 Gin Hollan

  Introduction

  Dear Reader,

  This is near-earth, but still not quite here. As is common in Steampunk, certain liberties have been taken, both with timelines and inventions. I have moved the development of radio waves, radar, and related technology (such as transistors) up by fifty to one hundred years depending on the item in question. Under that premise, established radio communication is a solid technology by the mid-1850s and supports the use of commercial radio stations, and ham radio operation.

  I also hope you'll forgive that instead of TV following within twenty years of the first commercial radio station starting up, it will be quite some time before that happens, but technologies we still dream about are alive and well.

  In this book, things go even further off the beaten path, as Arabeth and friends struggle to understand the strange new land they are in.

  Thank you—I hope you enjoy!

  // Chapter 1 //

  ARABETH STOOD AND stretched. A long, uncomfortable night of not-quite sleeping on the hard-packed forest floor left her with kinks and aches that only a hot bath would cure. She pulled her pocket watch out and wound it, staring at the action of the miniature gears for a moment out of habit.

  She and Marble had barely escaped with their lives. Had the others made it out? Darn Graham and his inclination to solve everything with explosives! At least it was … solved. The tunnel was definitely closed now.

  Behind them stood an immense cliff wall, and where the cavern exit had once been was now o
nly rubble and dust. A portion of the mountain had collapsed, adding to the debris, as though to protest and protect. Beside the exit stood the body of a different automaton, differing from the one she'd disabled by the fact it still had a head. The legs were broken and twisted, though. It was no threat.

  She put her watch away. Now, in the early sun, she took a long look around. There was one narrow dirt road leading into a forest of thin, tall trees, reaching great heights, but with short, pointy needles where broad leaves would normally be. These were the trees of true wilderness, Arabeth thought.

  As a feeling of helplessness tugged at her she blocked it, preferring to think through the logic of this dilemma. She sighed. It was a real problem.

  If getting back home was the goal, she needed to follow the mountain east, but the only path out was a long dirt road through the trees, directly away from the mountain, to the north.

  If her goal was something else … well, she didn’t have enough information to do something else yet. Still, that was the open path, and she was no woodsman.

  Her gut tensed a moment—had Sam, Melanie, and Graham made it out of the cave? They must have. They were the ones who’d collapsed the cavern, setting explosive charges off to prevent an enemy incursion. They must have gone out the other way, toward home.

  Marble looked none the worse for the experience, at least. Arabeth reached down and picked the little fox up, curling her arms around to hold the creature close, petting her a moment before setting her back down, Arabeth’s nerves calmed now. The little fox looked leaner these days, but she hadn’t gotten lighter.

  They had a few provisions, due to her habit of packing dried chicken for Marble and fruit for herself. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of food. Not yet, she grumbled back.

  On this side of the mountain was a country called Vensay, if she remembered her grandfather’s map right. She hoped that Tanner Stein’s plot had died with him. His attempt to use the isolated city of Blastborn as a proving ground, no matter if it was revenge-based or not, was over. He was over. There may be others of his ilk here, though.

  He was most likely from this country, and having to travel here meant more than the danger of being in a strange land if there were others here who thought as he did. She had no pity for the merciless when their comeuppance arrived. Rationalizing violence against others was a sign of a weak will, a weak mind.

  "Ready, Marble?" she asked.

  Marble looked up at her quizzically.

  Enemy territory or not, Arabeth would prefer to face other people than dodge bears and wolves and other creatures of the wild. Those beasts would be the least of her worries if the stories about life on this side—tales of a vast, roaring land—were true. There were no giants here, laying waste to towns and villages, right? It was only stories, fairy tales.

  Home suddenly felt continents away. Did her family think her dead? Even Maralise, as antagonistic as she was toward Arabeth, her only sister ... she shouldn't wish her dead, right?

  Then again, Maralise had the singular view that her opinions were the only correct ones, and hated Arabeth pointing out truths she found inconvenient. She'd probably feel nothing short of relief.

  That didn’t matter. She had to protect them, or they’d meet a fate not unlike Betsy’s. The technology behind the implant they put in Melanie’s head would not be isolated to one crazy man in a cave. She had to heal the chaos and distrust that had become part of her hometown.

  Being stuck on the other side of the mountain was the perfect opportunity to find out who was really behind the attack on Blastborn. She hated to pass it up. Delayed justice meant Tanner’s cohorts had time to regroup and rethink ... and that meant they might try again. She couldn't let that happen. Hefting her satchel strap up and over her head, she shifted into a traveling state of mind.

  Walking forward, the dusty, rough road wound out through the trees, soon making it feel like she’d been walking forever. The sun sat high overhead when a sound deeper down the road drew her out of her thoughts. She ducked back into the tree line. Distant voices, arguing. The cadence of their speech seemed familiar, but she couldn’t pick out any one voice at this distance.

  // Chapter 2 //

  “ARABETH!” MELANIE SCREAMED, running to pull her into a quick hug. Sam’s eyes were glued to her as though she might vanish if he looked away. The second Melanie let go, Sam pulled Arabeth into his arms and held her tight.

  "We couldn't find you. Some of us thought the worst had happened," Melanie said, half-turning to scowl at Graham.

  The moment stretched into two and Graham cleared his throat.

  Sam stepped back, looking her over. "Are you all right?"

  Arabeth nodded. "Rattled, but unhurt. You?"

  "A little deafer than we used to be," he said, glancing sidelong at Graham. “We had to use one of the ventilation shafts to get out, and the sound really echoes up those.”

  "We waited for you once we got out, but it started to get dark.” Graham's smile was weak but steady.

  "When we saw the cliff face, we knew this was where to wait, at least for a while," Melanie said, smiling.

  "I had to agree. If there is art, you'll be magnetically drawn to it," Sam said, eyes fixed on Arabeth as he ran a hand down one side of her hair in an unexpectedly intimate caress.

  "Well, it's all good now. We can concentrate on finding a way back," Graham said.

  "I was thinking...." She hesitated. They had unusual bad luck for anyone that came with her and Marble, though. The fact her friends were separated from her when the cave fell in was proof they were safer apart.

  “We can follow the mountain east to the ocean. The mountain drops off a mile before that, so we can go around … unless anyone has a better idea?" Arabeth inhaled slowly, holding the breath a moment before letting it out. Tracking the automaton took second seat to risking her friends. If it was just her and Marble, that was different.

  "I know that look," Sam said.

  "Me too," Melanie added. "You’re not planning to go home with us. You’re going to explore. I can tell."

  "Me?" Arabeth laughed. "No.... I have no money, no map, and now that the cave is closed, no good reason to stay.”

  “But...,” Sam prompted.

  “We know there’s a ‘but’ coming,” Melanie added as Graham nodded, scowling.

  “You want to chase that automaton, don’t you?” Melanie continued.

  “No, it’s just that.... It’s been a couple centuries since anyone from Blastborn was on this side. I’m ... curious. It’s been generations."

  "At least three," Sam said. "My grandparents were the last people to move over."

  "Doesn't that strike you as odd? No one new moves in, no one leaves. I mean, don't you want to know why? The mountain range has the toxic gas problem, but we get shipments every month, so there has to be a way around. That’s why I think it’s by the ocean, where the mountains drop down."

  Graham shrugged. "There's nothing interesting over here."

  "What? You've been on this side before?"

  "No, but as a kid, I pestered the train conductors," he explained. "Their stories were many and dull."

  "This road turns and follows the mountain for a while. We can follow it until we find a way back through or find civilization," Sam said, petting Marble this time.

  "Wait - what art?" Arabeth asked, realizing she'd been too happy to see them to think about that.

  "Oh, you'll love this—there are painted images carved into the cliff. Some of them look real." Melanie shuddered. "It’s like people were trapped in the stone."

  "I hate to ask, but is there a chance you have food? I'm starving," Graham wondered aloud.

  "A little." Arabeth pulled out a small, round yellow pear and gave it to him. "I'm sure we all have a little coin on us. Do you know where the next town is? I'm sure there's someone who will take our coins in exchange for supplies."

  "I hope so, too," Melanie said, eyeing Arabeth's satchel. "Let's eat by the cliff."<
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  Arabeth hesitated a moment before she opened her satchel wide. She packed her sling satchel anytime she left the house for more than an hour. Her job as a bail enforcement officer meant there was no way to guarantee food or water, sometimes for hours at a time. Catching criminals was a good profession, but those types ran on their own timetable.

  She looked for a flat surface. A large rock would work, but the only thing here was the road. Sighing, she pulled out a thin sheet of baby blue fabric. Lily had given it to her as proof that a thin weave could also be a durable one. No time like the present to test it. She took one edge and swung the rest high into the air; it unfolded like a bed sheet. The fabric covered about six square feet, she estimated. It would have made a nice tablecloth.

  Squatting at the edge, she pulled the food she carried out into a small stack in the centre. Three more pieces of fruit, several nut-filled oat bars, and a package holding about eighteen crackers. It didn't seem like much when four hungry people stared at it.

  "We'll take turns. Graham has already taken his first. Melanie, you're next."

  Her friends hesitated.

  "It's this or tree bark. Hurry before some wildlife sees this as an offering," she snapped.

  "When you put it that way...." Melanie knelt at the pile and chose something to eat.

  After the sorting, Arabeth picked up the fabric and tried to get the dirt off. It was a little reluctant. She folded it top-side out before putting it in her bag again. She hadn't pulled out Marble's chicken, instead sneaking some pieces out for the fox to take in quick portions. Arabeth hoped Marble would hunt for her own dinners, for the most part. She'd done it before.