Chapter 8: Steam and Gears
After the long walk home, I was positively exhausted. Logrolf didn't seem to ever run out of energy, which I guessed had something to do with his lengthened life span.
"Player! Nice to see you!" Mechanic said when I walked to the center of the village.
"My name is Vald. I found that out yesterday." I said sullenly.
"Apparently, you also found some shiny new armor and cool looking wings. And a new friend to boot?" Mechanic joked.
"And I lost Dryad on the way." I muttered. Mechanic stayed silent. After a long pause, Logrolf finally said,
"Player, I thought you told me most of your village was destroyed by the twins!" I rolled me eyes.
"Well then, I guess they fixed it!" I retorted. Logrolf muttered something ineligible under his breath. All of the houses had been restored to their former "glory" and I even saw a new one.
"Mechanic, who occupies the new house?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Steampunker. She works with steam and gears. Pretty typical if you ask me." Mechanic muttered. I nodded.
"Well, I guess I should go check on everybody. Good day!" I said, turning around. Mechanic nodded and walked away.
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I walked into Dryad's abandoned house, holding up a torch. Most of the plants had either wilted or overgrown. Dust had gathered on the table and chairs. The star in a bottle had fallen off the table, and the star lay gleaming on the ground. The whole place had a creepy atmosphere. But I was looking for something. I looked under the table and noticed a lose board. I pried it up and it gave way. I peered into the small hole. Two slips of paper lay on the ground. One of them showed a bag of purification powder, and some alchemy ingredients and numbers. The other showed a bottle of light blue water, capped off with a golden cross. It had a similarly written list of ingredients. I silently cheered- Without Dryad, I would have to make my own purification powder- and whatever the bottle of water was. I swept the papers up and into my pocket, smiling cheerfully.
When I walked out of the abandoned house, I headed towards this new "Steampunker's" house. When I walked in, I saw a tall female figure bent over a box of gears and metal bars. The walls were plated with brass decorated with various strange contraptions. The smell of oil hung in the air. It reminded me of a car repair shop. She was cursing muttering threats at the box- or maybe its contents. Suddenly, she went silent. Then, without warning, something shot out of the chest, and landed on the ground next to her. It made incoherent muttering sounds and menacingly held up two blades. It looked rather comical, considering it was only twelve inches tall. It puffed a cloud of steam, and rolled forward on two hidden wheels. When it reached the highly amused steampunker, it began swinging its blades at her. She quickly backed up, grabbing a wrench. She whacked it on the head and it fell back, its fragile neck slightly bent by the blow. She shook her head and picked the malfunctioning thing up. She pressed a button on the back, and it curled into a perfect ball.
"What the heck was that?" I asked. Steampunker laughed.
"That's a robot I've been working on. The blooming contraption won't listen to me." The steampunker said, putting it back in the box.
"So, you're the one who created the twins and the destroyer?" I asked. She nodded.
"That's me. It's bloody shame you had to disassemble them. Those were my greatest pieces of work!" Steampunker whined. She had a heavy British accent, which seemed a bit exaggerated.
"Do you sell anything that might be of use?" I asked.
"Now that's the real question, isn't it? Because honestly, what good would I be if I didn't sell anything useful? Well, I suppose that a jetpack won't be of any use- you've got those fancy wings there- but maybe a tool with which you could cleanse and contaminate entire biomes?" Steampunker replied cheerfully. I reached for my pockets.
"How much?" I asked.
"Two platinum coins." Steampunker said, holding out her hand. I gaped at her.
"No way! You've got to be kidding me!" I cried.
"Nope. I'm not kidding you. It took me ten years to assemble." She said sternly. I turned away.
"Fine. But I will have it for free if the time comes. You are living here only because I let you. Got it?" I vented.
"Heard you loud and clear, bossy." Steampunker mocked. I snarled and slammed the door.
"Gather around friends, one and all." I said. It had been an hour since I had visited the steampunker, and the whole village was gathered around me in a circle.
"While I was gone, as many of you know, another one of our residents has been killed. Today we are here to honor the bravery of our good friend, The Dryad." I said, slightly flinching.
"Another one bites the dust." The arms dealer said through clenched teeth. I nodded sadly.
"Dryad has helped us all in more ways than you can imagine. It is by her bravery and intelligence that we stand here today, united as a village. The crimson would have overtaken us if not for her purifying powder, and her bravery in battle has helped us end the Twins, the brain of Cthulhu, and the one that ended her, the Destroyer." I said, putting my hand on my sword hilt.
"But we shall not let this death go in vain! We shall bring an end to the crimson, and send all of the monsters that dwell there to oblivion!" I cried, raising my sword. "Will you fight with me to destroy the crimson and restore the peace? Will you be with me until the bitter end?" I asked, looking around at the circle of supporters. They all solemly agreed. So it was settled- we were going to bring war to the crimson!