by Han Yang
“Some were lucky, landing on top of piles of rubble. Others were impaled on spikes or buried. Our adventuring guild lost half its members in a single moment. We retired. We all did. I may’ve sworn never to go back to adventuring.”
Joana patted his thigh, thanking him for sharing. “Except, I bug him to go nonstop. Even dated a few boys after signing on with an adventuring guild. There were problems. Such as: women are allowed to be paid less by bylaws and guild charters. I found the big groups to be too much drama.”
Leon cleared his throat with a stern glare.
Joana rolled her eyes. “Fine, I broke a few rules by doing side adventures with a black listed group. Which got me blacklisted. And here we are.”
We were out of sight of the city wall now. Leon turned the boat in with the rising tide. The boat washed onto the shore, causing smooth stones to clack against each other under our weight.
I hopped out of the dinghy, pulling it further onto the beach. Two eyes peered from the water line, nearing where Joana stood.
“Croc,” I called out, snatching the pistol off my belt.
A four footer crashed out of the water, racing for the woman. I shot, Leon shot, and Joana froze, tucking her arms in with a terrified shriek.
Our bluish bullets halted the charge, diving into the head of the animal, and splattering bits of skull. I learned crocs can roar, and apparently give death cries. The animal twisted a few spins before becoming still.
I extracted my sword from its sheath with a smooth motion. My eyes fixated on both the water washing in, and the dead animal.
The tip of the blade slid in the eye smoothly, braining the beast.
“Wow… I have never been attacked on the beach,” Leon said in a shocked tone. He then turned to his daughter. “You ready to go home, because you sure acted like it.”
Ouch, the words of a stern father. I saw her fighting internal emotions, her face was a mess. I decided to save her.
I cleared my throat. “I’m going to need to stay. I… have realized I need to amass wealth and I can’t do that making lots of trips. Joana, if you could please do your job and process the loot.”
“Yer right Bradley. Sorry father, won’t happen again,” she said.
I inspected the pistol, seeing it had small new designs in the metal. Neat… I loved this place. Minus the small crocs, of course.
I holstered the side arm, slung the pack to the ground, and extracted my blunderbuss. In retrospect, I still needed a bandoleer and a sling for the big weapon.
A quick drink and I heard rustling from inside the forest that was thirty feet up the beach.
“Leon, we might have visitors,” I said, and we both backed up defensively to cover Joana.
Five minutes went by with only a few eyes peering out. Ten minutes later she had a preserving pack loaded in the wheeled bag.
I only briefly watched her big mechanical hands work their magic. The hiss of steam let me know she was hard at work tearing, ripping, sawing, and slicing. Joana was smooth, only extracted the best cuts, piling the rest with the guts off to the side.
I saw her retrieve a small triangle of H, inserting it inside a special bag.
The sun was fading against the horizon by the time Joana was finally ready to go.
“We head a few hundred feet in, build a fire, and set a trap with these leftovers. We then sit up high and let the cooking meat send out the signal.” Leon shoveled the guts and spare meat into a ditching bucket meant for bailing out water. “Sounds good?”
“Sure, what could go wrong in the forest at night,” I said with a smartass tone.
“At least you can see in the dark,” Joana said. “All I hear are two monkeys and a snake. The washing waves are incredibly distractin’.”
Feeling ready, the three of us headed into gloomy unknown.
CHAPTER 8
Joana snored lightly from a tree branch above us. We were in a rare Gearnix type of tree that went hundreds of feet up and had huge platform type branches. I shared a thick stub of a tree branch with Leon.
We both scanned the area around a crackling fire about thirty feet down and fifty feet away. Around the clearing and even in the flames was our gory bait.
“You overdosed,” he said, pulling me from my thoughts. I gave him a funny look. “You’re not tired, extremely alert, and she is snoozing. That is because we both filled our reservoirs to over eight percent. Remember the Gearnix Readiness Sheet. Your number was ninety something.”
“Ninety-seven.”
“A higher than eighty will up your adrenaline and keep you awake. Gearnix H is magic. Ingest a lot when you’re in a bind because it acts as an upper. You get slight stat boosts too.
“You’re probably a 9.3 or so instead of a 9.8, but still, Joana is a 5.4. We simply don’t get to train like the Ocarna people can.”
He whittled a stick to a point while we talked. Our trap had failed to lure in anything so far. Only a few critters came, gave a sniff, and bolted because of the fire.
Eventually we talked. “So to improve, I just train?”
He shrugged with a sideways head tilt. “Some of it is simple. Like for example. Burst is your sprint score, while endurance is your distance or long fights. To raise burst: short intense battles or lots of sprints. To raise endurance: have long fights and run for leagues.”
“Ah, so it’s common sense stuff?” I thought over the stats that would be easy to improve. “Mainly no trickery or cheating to get easy stats?”
“Hard work matters. Which is why I was so determined to come out here in the middle of the night. Told Lei that we were going to pull an all-nighter doing inventory. I’ll come clean the moment we’re home… She’d fret the whole night if I was honest upfront. Which means I’ll be on house arrest going forward. Mainly this was a good chance to settle a debt with Joana.”
I chuckled lightly, figuring it out. “She asked to come out here and you saw an opportunity for Joana… when you saw my stats?”
“Yeah, so. She is out of options for adventuring. She… is reduced to dressing skimpy to sell my products. As a father, well. I… I find myself in the woods doing something I swore against. All to please my little girl who’s not so little anymore. And yeah, you’re her last shot sorta deal.”
“Why not train her?” I asked.
“I’ve done what I can. I let her be a big girl a bit too early. But, part of parenting is learnin. Anyway, if yer out here shooting, trapping, and killing you’ll need company. That and she is actually a great worker. No bias in that statement. If you do well, she can use what she earns to improve her aim stat. Which,” he chuckled with a finger wag, “you suck at.”
“I had no idea it was so expensive,” I admitted.
“Which is why you likely trained since a child in melee combat. Unfortunately melee combat stat is clumped into a group and means fists as well as all weapons. A man carrying a massive mace he can’t hold right, will still have a score that reflects his best skill inside that grouping. If that makes sense.”
“Not really. But I wouldn’t want to see skill points for each weapon, each fist. I get the simplicity factor at least. So… you tested me to see if I was honest?”
He shook his head. “The blunderbuss said you were, the readiness check was simply to see if you could help her. Yer perception sucks. She felt bad being a Langshire to ya. She was batting her lashes at you to the point I wanted to puke.”
I chuckled. Such a dad thing to say.
Changing the subject I asked, “Why is there a race tab?”
“Rumor says there’s other races. Never seen anything but a human. Awe… crap.” Leon groaned, zooming in his eye at a motion on the outskirts.
I flicked my eye about half way, seeing a black cat sniffing air that guided it to the cooking guts.
“I like cats,” I blurted.
“Yeah, so does she. So, you can domesticate animals if they are young enough. A full grown, zero chance. That means… if it ain’t a baby it’ll kill y
ou. You understand what I’m sayin about this cat.”
I gulped. “How about this. I, honest to all the gods and goddesses, will try to hit the cat.”
“Ah, a good solution. That cat is worth about four silver, just so you know. That shot out of that rifle, about half a silver,” he said, scanning the area while I carefully raised my rifle.
This version of the long rifle was better than the basic one I’d tried before. There was a built in scope that frustrated me. I needed to adjust my eyepiece to get the ratios right and was struggling.
A hand landed softly on my left forearm, halting my movements.
The cat sniffed a wrong scent, fleeing the area. I was about to ask what startled Leon when he pointed below us.
I almost blurted a swear when a golden machine in the shape of a duck rustled out from a thick fern. The hideous metallic creation had eight robotic spider legs, allowing it to stealthily creep forward. There was no waddling, or cute factor, and those pincer legs frightened me as much as the saw like teeth in the beak.
As I went to shift the barrel, Leon waved me off and pointed at my blunderbuss. I guess that made sense. He leaned right next to my ear until his hot breath was awkward.
“I have 12 on aim. Let me take the long shot. If I miss, wait until it's close. And Bradley. They roam in twos. If they get to you, sacrifice your Gearnix arm,” he whispered in warning.
That was ominous and freaky at the same time. I gently laid down the long rifle, carefully pulling the blunderbuss from my bag.
I sat there sweating each second that went by. Leon chewed on his whittling stick, waiting to fire like a veteran. I wanted to ask so badly what he was -
A second duck spider walked into the light with the cat in its beak. Oh… the poor cat was dead. The new arrival added the cat to the fire. A sizzling of hair wafted nasty billowing black smoke.
I saw steam eject from the monstrous creatures that waited as they quacked to each other. The smaller metallic beast pulled the cat corpse from the fire with a knife shaped appendage when the skin was melted, and the hair gone.
I held in my urge to gag as they tore into the cooked body.
ZAP!
The weapon kicked back in Leon’s arms. Bright bluish energy burst forth, causing me to squint. The small swirling magic crashed into the torso of the larger monstrous creation.
There was a loud tearing sound from the impact that sent the duck spider into a tumble. I held my breath, watching the first one hit twitch before stilling.
The survivor turned on turbo boosters, hissing steam along with hisses of anger. Its eight pincer legs sent it speeding to our tree.
“So fast!” I blurted.
Seeing the creature going vertical like an ant on a wall had my eyes widening.
“Huh?” Joana said in confusion, just waking. She shrieked at seeing the angry monstrosity.
Bark flew as the golden hybrid used its sharp pincer legs to chew its way up the tree. Ten feet became five and I aimed a shot with the blunderbuss that was impossible to miss.
BOOM!
The kickback sent me flying from my perch. I crashed into a lower branch with incredible pain.
Stars danced in my vision. I coughed harshly for a minute. When my breath returned, I groaned rolling from the pain.
I felt myself slipping off the branch. My rotation caused me to precariously dangle, luckily soft hands corrected my fall.
“Easy, Bradley.” She hoisted me onto the branch with a grunt. Her big mechanical hands whirled, aiding her arms. “Dad says you’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
“I feel like my ribs are busted,” I growled out with pain.
“Probably are,” Leon said, jumping down a limb to check me out. “Ducderbots. They’re made of dense gold and have cube hearts. Going to be a good haul.” He surveyed the battle. “Wow, we got lucky.”
“Says the guy with the perfect ribs.” I groaned and they chuckled.
He helped Joana adjust me into a semi comfy position. “Get doted on while I clean up. Your body will heal in an hour or two. If you ask your mind to rest, it’ll help the healing.”
“Huh?” I was confused.
“I got it, Dad. Let me sing you to sleep, Bradley. You’re due to crash from all the overload you ingested. You can turn that off to increase your healing output. Simply go to sleep, which is harder to do when in pain. Hence, I’ll sing.”
I understood enough of that. Rest equals recovery and more so when I should be wide awake.
Her singing was soothing. After ten minutes of adjusting, my body let her sweet song, and soft petting of my hair lull me into a sleep.
∞∞∞
I awoke to a rising sun shining through the canopy of the forest. At some point I ended up with a very beautiful woman curled up in my arms.
My confused face pleased Leon who sat nearby.
“Morning,” he said. I quickly extracted myself from embracing his daughter. “How ya feelin?”
“Right as rain,” I replied to see him tilt his head at the saying. It was the truth though, I felt amazing. “How did last night go?”
He pointed at a pile of bodies near the fire. “Are those bunnies?”
“Yeah, regular ole bunnies that eat flesh. I used a sword on em to save coins. They’ll attract some more stuff. I’m going to nap. Joana and you protect me while you watch the bait.”
I held up a finger. “I had a quick question.” He nodded for me to proceed. “I dreamed of an army of steambots helping me slay a dragon. Do steambots not work out here?”
His face twisted in confusion. “I… Yes they work in the wilds. They are robots though. You can level them up with great time and costs but in the end, they’re only robots. The wilds are craftier than a machine with basic processing.”
“Can I get advanced processing?”
“Like a human sidekick that’s a robot?” he asked.
“Uh… when you put it that way, yeah.”
“Sure, it’ll cost more than this city to get to that point. There are always those fools who want steamwarriors like those who guard the Gearnix Stations. Even a basic version is astronomical.
“If yer heart is set on a steambot sidekick then get the working type with minimal defenses. They come hip high. I don’t sell em. The adventuring guild market will. They are pricey, but yeah, can be worth the costs. Especially if you run a smaller team.”
“How expensive?” I asked.
“Well, it depends. Those ducderbots are a good find. Worth around a bronze per. A used rusty venturebot is hundred silver to a hundred bronze. Add a decent steamcart for them to haul, and you got a hell of a team.
“Downside to takin the dinghy is a lot of this meat is getting left behind unless we drag it for hours. Just do me a favor. If you take Joana, and don’t use a boat, stick with the high priced bank. Worth every coin.”
“Sage advice. Alright, anything I need to do besides provide overwatch while you recover?” I asked.
“Four hours or less and I’ll come off the H high. Then we head home, rest of the work is done. Keep us safe until then. She stayed up most of the night braiding yer hair,” Leon said and my hands shot to my hair.
He chuckled as I felt my chin-length locks in braids.
Awe… I’d never get them undone quickly.
Instead of pouting, I smirked and stuck my helmet on. I headed for a better vantage point where I could shoot from. Five minutes later Leon was back to back with his daughter, snoozing softly.
A squirrel hesitantly entered the clearing. The little critter sniffed intently until it caught a whiff of death and retreated into the woods.
When ten minutes went by I retrieved a book on steambots. Careful to ensure I could still watch the area, I went about learning classifications.
Gearnix offered a wide range of steam powered machines to build. Most of the creations could be lumped into a classification.
Steambots: The common robot of Gearnix. They are commonly used for general purposes. Mos
t consider the steambot to be an all-around machine that’s short frame consumes minimal hydrox. Training a steambot is tedious in the beginning and based on their parts limited. Once trained they are extremely reliable at simple tasks. A steambot can talk even at basic levels but owners or renters will struggle until they are trained on communications and tasks. The key to steambots is to invest the time to get them to do exactly what you want, or pay for one that does what you need. Do not expect instant results on your new companions.
Venturebots: Adventurers since the dawn of Gearnix have needed help in the wilds. Venturebots are taller machines that have a higher functioning capability with an increased hydrox consumption. They serve more roles than simply being great for decoys, distractions, and starting a fight so an adventurer can finish the battle. Many venturebots are household companions, guards, and capable of watching children at later ages. Like many other creations of Gearnix, Venturebots are expensive. Adding a human to a party is the go to method as time has progressed with very few guilds and mercenary companies utilizing venturebots for their intended purpose. If you decide to hire a venturebot, carefully train the creation to execute the desired combat tasks.
Steammovers: Moving from A to B on Gearnix has never been easier. Steammovers include trolleys, carts, wagons, blimps, boats, trains, and more. These are expensive to create and maintain. Entire economies are built around transportation and operations. This book lacks the depth of knowledge on these advanced machines. Normally taxes fund public operations of these creations.
Steamcreatures: The other machines for the wilds. In the early days it is said the originators of Gearnix prayed for steam powered mounts such as mechanical bulls, horses, and even a mammoth. The rumor is the gods saw this as a foolish waste, allowing the creation parts to appear in the Gearnix Stations. As time progressed these creations saw less and less use due to operation costs. They are able to perform amazing feats if you can afford the upkeep. Common knowledge says it is cheaper to use real animals.
Steamtools: This covers a huge range of items from a toaster to a welding torch to a sawmill. The great part of steam tools is not all of them require hydrox. A few will allow old fashioned steam energy. Steam generators for electrical power fall into that group. There are so many steam tools and parts that new combinations are made every day.