Chapter 13: Heart of Steel
Hey everyone, welcome to Chapter 13 of Friendship! This Chapter will be sort of unique, for two different reasons. The first being, this will be the first Chapter not to feature the Player, Wyatt! I couldn't find a way to insert him into this Chapter, so he does not feature here. Secondly, this Chapter will create a sort of mini-arc of Chapters, between the Mechanic, the Goblin Tinkerer and the Clothier, and linking those three characters together a bit. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this Chapter!
I do not own Terraria, that is the property of Microsoft and Re-Logic
Merry the Mechanic took a deep breath, as she slowly pushed at the door to the bar. The smell of stale air and liquor filled the air, as Merry entered. Looking around, the Mechanic was surprised by how empty it was. She would've guessed there would have been more people around, given it was the evening. But all she saw was two people; the Wizard, sitting by the counter, and the Tavernkeep chatting away.
"…and so I said, that's not my wife, that's a demon." Javahawk stated, apparently in the middle of a story. "And the warrior said, 'what's the difference'?"
The Tavernkeep let out a loud chortle, pounding the counter a few times with his calloused hands. The Wizard gave a small smile and a quiet laugh, seemingly more interested in the drink in his hand than the story being told. Javahawk quickly noticed the latest
"Well bless my mugs, if it ain't everyone's favourite Mechanic." The Tavernkeep announced, a wide grin on his face. "Pull up a barstool, I'll pour ya a root beer."
"Long as it's in a square mug." The Mechanic responded, making her way towards the counter. "…that's a maths joke, by the way. Any mug will do, honestly."
Javahawk just let out a chuckle, as he pulled out a root beer from behind the counter, sliding it towards Merry.
"Hey, nothing wrong with a joke." Javahawk stated, as he wiped his hands on his apron. "It's why I let the Wizard in here."
The Wizard didn't really seem to notice the jibe made at him; he just let out a small grunt, as he sipped at his drink. Merry didn't really know what the drink was; all she could tell was that it was bubbling, bright purple and looked like it would burn a hole in your stomach.
"So, what's got you visiting my bar?" The Tavernkeep inquired. "Never really seen you in here before."
"Just needed to clear my mind a bit." Merry responded. "Try some of this beer everyone's been raving about."
Grabbing the root beer, Merry took the drink and gave it a quick sip. The liquid had no sooner toucher her lips, before the Mechanic wrinkled up her nose. Yeah, she was quickly learning why she hadn't come to Javahawk's bar sooner.
"You're a terrible liar, Merry." Javahawk chuckled. "Now c'mon, what has you so down?"
"Just got a lot on my mind, Javahawk." Merry answered. "If you don't mind, could I sit by myself for a bit?"
The Tavernkeep stood there for what seemed like an eternity, looking at the Mechanic, before shrugging his shoulders and moving on. The Mechanic sat at her seat silently after that, gently nursing her root beer. She lifted the glass to her lips and found her nose wrinkling, before the liquid even touched her lips. She was very tempted to just turn the drink upside down and pour it onto the floor next to her, but she couldn't do it. Her mother would be rolling in her grave, if she even thought about doing that. Taking a deep sigh, Merry took another sip of the root beer; if she drank it quick enough, maybe she wouldn't be able to taste it.
The Mechanic let out a stifled grunt, as she quickly shook her head. Okay yeah, that plan definitely didn't work. Her head was starting to swim a little bit and she was starting to feel a bit sleepy; she never could hold her liquor, even with something weak like root beer. Pulling out some coppers from her pocket, the Mechanic placed some on the table in front of her. She could hear the Tavernkeep start to say something, but Merry was already making her way towards the exit. Visiting this place had been a mistake; she should never have come here. As she pushed opened the door and exited the tavern, she couldn't help but wish that this week would finally be over with…
"Well Merry, what's bothering you today?" Katherine the Nurse inquired. "Is your back still giving you issues? You know I recently purchased a book from the Merchant, that talks about how yoga can help with back issues."
"I appreciate the offer, I really do." Merry answered. "But I'm not here for my back. It's something else. More to do with…well, my mental health. The Clothier mentioned a while back you helped him with his nightmares and well...I was wondering if you could help me out too?"
The Nurse paused at that, looking at the Mechanic in front of her. It wasn't a judgemental look that was on the Nurse's face…but rather one of concern. Katherine reached over, grabbing a pen and notepad, before speaking.
"So before we start, I gotta make something clear." Katherine stated. "I'm not exactly trained for this sort of thing. I can set your bones and stitch your wounds up, no problem. But mental health stuff? A bit outside my range of expertise. I only did that with the Clothier out of desperation."
"I know, I know. I'm not coming into this expecting any miracles. But I just need someone to talk to, you know?" The Mechanic explained, trying not to fidget in her seat. "I keep having…well, nightmares. Bad ones."
"I'm guessing nightmares from your time stuck in the dungeon?" Katherine asked, taking down notes.
"Sometimes, yeah. But mostly…I keep having nightmares about a skull."
"A skull?"
"A giant skull, the size of maybe this building. With smoke pouring out of its mouth, and giant skeleton arms as big as trees floating underneath it." Merry murmured. "And I just stand there, frozen, unable to move. And then this giant skull just looks at me and…"
Merry trailed off, as she took a deep shuddering breath.
"We can take a break, if you want?" Katherine inquired. "You don't need to dump all of this in one go."
"No, I need to keep going. The skull…the skull turns into the moon, a bright shining moon." The Mechanic went on. "And I just start screaming, screaming so loud it feels like my lungs are going to explode. And then I just wake up."
"A moon?" Katherine inquired, an interested look on his face.
"Yeah, like the one in the night sky. But…glowing blue, if that makes sense?" Merry explained. "I sound crazy, I know."
"Not at all, Merry. Listen, we can get through this." The Nurse stated. "I'm not an expert on this…but I'm gonna help you. I promise."
"I appreciate that so much, Katherine." Merry answered, a smile on her face.
"I swore an oath to heal and help people." Katherine answered. "If that means healing people emotionally and mentally? Well I'll do that, too."
The Nurse found herself momentarily silenced, as she felt Merry's arms wrapped around Katherine's neck and hugged her tightly. Katherine stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, before returning the hug.
"Thank you, Katherine." Merry stated, still hugging the Nurse tightly. "You're a good friend, ya know that?"
"Well um, that's what friends are for." Katherine responded, blushing slightly. She definitely hadn't expected today to go like this...but she definitely wasn't going to complain.
And Chapter 13 is done and dusted! Please let me know what you thought about this Chapter, your reviews mean a lot to me. Especially with this Chapter, given how different it is to what I usually write for this story. Anyway I hope to see all you wonderful readers soon!
Love,
The Desert Dancer
