Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land

Chapter Eight - Lelei

Walking into the large building she began to notice the array of food that was waiting. She could smell the cooking meat, see the dishes that were arranged, and of course see the people working. She moved with the others toward the area where small trays were provided. She picked one up, and moved with the slowly advancing flow. She looked at the one on the other side of the small place.

"Food, here, good, eat."

She looked at them, and then she heard them speaking to one another. The language was different, but not so far removed that she couldn't understand it. Many might consider it to be simply the jabbering of removed beastmen, but that wasn't it in the slightest. There was the way they were speaking. It was a language, and she listened closely as she moved down the line. She pointed toward something. She knew that it was cooked meat, but she listened to the sound of the words being spoken.

"F…fr…fried d..dr..dra…dragon," she repeated, sounding the words out. She then pointed to the next thing. She listened to the words, and once again she repeated them, "C..ca… canned c…co…corn."

Slowly she moved down the line, she gathered the foods, learning the names for them, and then she watched as one of the strange ones knelt their head. She listened to his words, and she observed several others doing the same. She could see the others looking around, some already starting to eat the food before them, and she bowed her own head.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked, "What are you reverencing?"

Lelei gestured to the others, "The metal ones, and those with them, are doing this," she said before she repeated the words she heard, "Thanks for the grub."

Afterward she took a bite of the canned corn. To her surprise it had a sweet taste. It was almost as if someone had taken a grain and added honey to it. The grain was heavily cooked, making it soft, but it was her master Cota that truly spoke his opinion of the meal. "Did you taste this?!" he exclaimed from where he was seated, "It's wyvern, and it's tender!"

She watched as he cut it with the fork, "It's so tender, and juicy!"

She watched as a small tear leaked out of the corner of his eye and slowly slid down the side of his cheek. She watched as he tried the canned corn next, "It's SWEET!"

Part of her wished that he would have a little more decorum while eating. She couldn't say that he wasn't a gifted Sage. His abilities certainly fit that of a master. However he barely acted like one. He was far too often concerned with worldly pleasures, too connected to the here and now and not to the small place that existed between the various plains of reality. She watched as he finished his meal, and then in normal fashion he leaned back and patted his stomach.

It was a reaction she had gotten fairly used to while learning under him. She shook her head and began to eat again. Looking over she saw Rory who had a slight grin on her face, "Interesting isn't it?"

She hesitated for a moment, "I suppose," she said, before she studied those around her, "I admit, and I am curious about them, and of course about their powers. They were able to fight off a fire dragon," she said as she held some of the canned corn in her fork, "They have means and abilities far beyond what we know of."

She watched as Rory looked toward two of the others entering. She sniffed the air, "Ah," she said as she watched them, "So, she has a claim on him, hmmm, interesting."

Lelei looked toward her, "What do you mean?"

She pointed toward the one wearing a blue suit that was similar to the armored one she had seen earlier, and she understood that it must have been the one that was inside of the suit of armor, "Oh, and the one he is with is the one that has a claim on him?"

Rory grinned as she studied them, "She's intelligent," she said before licking her upper lip, "She purposefully acted calm and collective when speaking to us. She allowed us to understand her position here, and then she took him and claimed him."

Lelei watched as she seemed to study them, "It certainly makes me more curious about them both."

Lelei shrugged, "I am curious about all of them. Their language isn't too different from our own," she said as she sat there, "It seems to be a strange dialect that we've never heard."

Rory grinned, "There's a reason for that," she replied, "It's simple enough if you stop and consider it."

Lelei seemed to think for a moment, "Master Cota talked about the history of Alnus Hill, but he didn't go deep into it. He is more focused on the flow of magic and it's properties than anything else," she replied, "But from what he had said, and from the bits of history I know that has been passed down, it would seem that we might share a common ancestor to them."

Rory studied her for a moment, "My, for one so young you are intelligent," she replied before she took a bite of the Wyvern, "Mmmm, I must admit that whoever cooked this has certainly got a gift. It is a fit offering for a demigoddess."

Lelei finished her meal, stood, took the tray over to the place where they were placed, and then looked around. She noticed a few of the former villagers slowly talking to one another. Some of them were watching the strange metal men that were currently working on new buildings that surrounded the area they were in. She too took a moment to study them. They moved awkwardly. Each of them seemingly carrying materials, working with crushing rock, or pouring out some kind of foundation from the crushed rock that gave a slight bluish gray shine to it.

She studied their movements, Slowly she began to see what they were. They were certainly built differently, but they were golems. They moved and acted like the small rock and mud golems that Cota had taught her to make. She was curious about how they had managed to get them to perform complex tasks without someone there to command them. Most golems needed to either have their commands entered into their mouths, or to have their creator there with them.

She didn't see any mouths on them, and so that meant that they should need their creator there. Instead they were working independently. She decided to move closer, and one of the villagers stopped her, "What are you doing?"

She looked at him, "I want a closer look."

She moved closer and one of them seemed to notice her. It spoke their strange language first, slow and mechanical, and then it spoke in her language, "Caution, this is a hard hat area, ******* are not permitted, Protectrons on duty."

She watched as they continued to work. Slowly she moved around, watching them, and she marveled as one lifted a board and held it in place before it held its hand against it. For a moment there was nothing, and then she heard a soft sound almost like air being released before a clanging sound erupted. It moved its hand away and she could see where a nail had been driven. She watched it over and over again. Each time the one holding a board in place touched a spot it would clang, and then there would be a nail.

The realization hit her. It was able to drive nails from pressing its hand against the boards. This made her question the golems, the protectrons, even more. How could something so impressive be working by itself, and why would they have it creating buildings? She watched for several moments before she finally walked back. Her surprise at the level of what she was seeing certainly made her question everything.

She moved toward the buildings and looked at one that had a small item sitting inside of it. It had what looked like a tiny window, and strange letters glowed in green on it. She moved forward and studied it for a moment.

"Terminal."

She looked at the one that spoke, and saw a younger woman dressed in clothes that were slightly different, "That's a terminal."

"T…ter…terminal," she said, repeating the word, and then she looked at the screen again, "What do?"

The younger woman studied her for a moment, and she watched as smile crossed her lips, "So you're learning our language?" she asked in Lelei's language. The young sage nodded, "I see, well we welcome you to do so, but I imagine that you want to know what this does?"

Lelei nodded again, "It is a box, with a glowing window, but other than that I do not know."

The woman nodded and walked forward. She pulled out the chair and began to type a few things. For a moment there was nothing, and then Lelei heard the slow steps of a protectron nearing them. She turned to see it. She then looked back at the young woman who was sitting at the terminal, "It allows us to give commands to the protectrons. We can give vocal commands as well, but this allows us to control them even at a distance."

"It is a spell?"

The young woman seemed to think for a moment before shaking her head, "It's similar, but not the same," she replied, "It's hard to put into words, but we can give commands from here for any of the protectrons that we have. There will be others that we will be collecting later, and they will also be accessed through here."

Lelei studied the terminal, and then she looked back at the young woman. She had said that it wasn't a spell, but it was close. She knew that magic and spells were what made golems work. The protectrons were similar, but they were also far better than most golems that she'd seen. It could potentially be explained as a magical device that they were using, but that wasn't quite it either.

She looked at the terminal itself. There was some kind of vine or cord that went into the back of it. She noticed that it wasn't just one. One went toward a large box, and she noticed that when she stood near it a strange feeling came over her. It felt like being near a lightning storm. It was almost as if there multiple lightning storms stored inside of that box. The other went outside, and she began to follow it. Instead of asking her what she was doing the other young woman followed her out as well.

She could see a strange looking dish made of small strips of metal that were laid over one another. In the center of the dish was a point that had a blinking light at the end of it. She studied it, looked back at the box, and then again at the dish.

"This is how it sends out the commands?"

The young woman nodded, "Yes," she admitted after a moment, "It uses… I am going to say our word for it, because I don't think that you have one. It uses radio waves to issue commands to the protectrons. Those commands tell them what to do and when to do it."

She looked it over and then looked at the protectron that was just standing inside, "So, what does it do when it isn't being commanded?"

The young woman gestured to it, "Most protectrons behave as they have been instructed. Normally that instruction is either to build, protect, or destroy. It depends on the one controlling them. Most of the protectrons we have here are designed to build, and so we've been having them work on the buildings and streets."

Lelei looked at the street below them, and she noticed that it was made from the same rock as the houses they'd seen, "How long does it take them?"

The young woman seemed to think for a moment, "Well, the fifteen of them built this in three days. They don't have to rest, so they can work continuously as long as they're not disturbed or destroyed."

She studied it again for a moment, "Such a thing would change everything," she said as she looked at them, "Entire villages could be rebuilt in a manner of days. They could be made better than before, and it would take so little effort."

The young woman smiled, "Well, yes and no. The protectrons would be working, but they would need to be protected while they're building. Anything that is strong enough to hurt one of us is strong enough to destroy them," she said as she gestured to the one inside of the building, "So, while they create we protect."

Lelei nodded, "Thank you," she said as she looked up, "There is much to learn here. Am I allowed to do so?"

The young woman grinned, "I see no reason why not. Now, there's somethings that we believe should be held off from those not ready for them, but at the same time I strongly believe that having knowledge is the best way of allowing others to make the decisions that would impact their lives. So, if you're interested I'll teach you our written language, and from there you should be able to learn anything you want to."

Lelei nodded, "Thank you, please, teach me."

The young woman grabbed a small book with a little man dressed in a blue suit on the front of it. He was holding up his thumb, and it seemed to be facing away from him as if he was comparing something far away to his thumb. The entire idea seemed odd, but she didn't question it.

"This is a reading primer," she said as she handed it to her, "It covers the basics, and we're going to start with that. From there we'll move onto more demanding reading, and hopefully before long you'll be able to read some of our literature if you're interested. Anyway, the letters on the front are pronounced like this. SSS Pee Eee Cee IeI Aaa Lll."

She studied it for a moment, and she said the letters as well. The woman nodded, "Good, Now, lets open the page and then we'll go from there."

Lelei followed her directions, and she began to look at the words. Over the course of the next couple of hours she learned several basic words, and she began with another beginning book. At the end of the first day she felt an achievement she hadn't been sure she would have experienced outside of learning magic. The lesson itself seemed to take a good part of the day, but slowly she learned more about their language.

At the end of the day she was able to speak in full sentences, converse between herself and the others. To say she felt accomplished would have been an understatement. She had learned the basic of an entirely different language in a few hours. She began walking when she saw the high elf Tuka walking and looking around confused. She was glad to see that she was dressed, and that she looked to be in good health.

"Good Evening," she said in the other language before smiling, "Hello, are you feeling better?"

Tuka nodded, "I am, I was just wondering if there were more from my tribe that might have made their way here," she said, as she looked around, "I also wondered how long they would be there. It looks as if they've created a small village here. Does that mean that they intend on staying?"

Lelei looked at her and shrugged, "I do not know. Perhaps they will, perhaps not."

There was a slight laugh and they looked to see Rory, "They don't seem overly anxious to march and conqueror. That makes them interesting," she said as she neared the other two, "Instead they seem to be more interested in assisting those in need."

She studied them, "But the question you should be asking yourself is what will you do now that your village is gone," Rory said as she looked around, "Because at this point if they leave you will need to become self sufficient."

Lelei nodded, "It means finding something that people would find worthy enough of purchasing."

Tuka looked at them both, and Lelei could see her wide eyes, "I will not submit to being a plaything!"

Lelei shook her head and led her toward the mess hall. Behind it were buckets full of something black and shiny. She took one out and presented it to Tuka, "I talked to Scribe Moore while I was learning. I asked what they were going to do with the scales from the wyverns. She said they don't want to use them. Apparently they aren't powerful enough to withstand their weapons, and weapons like theirs, so they have little use for them. So, we can have them," she said as she handed it to Tuka, "These sell for a high price. You will not have to become a plaything."

Tuka looked at the scale, then at the three large wooden buckets full of other scales. She looked at Lelei, "Where can we sell them?"

Lelei seemed to think for a moment, "The city of Italica would be a good place," she said as she looked at Tuka, "It is a city dedicated to not being part of any specific country, and instead maintains a neutral stance. I believe that selling them there would be best."

She watched as Tuka took in her suggestion, "How would we get there?"

She saw Rory smile, "We ask them to take us," she said, a slight smile on her lips, "Their carriages can make the trip in little time, and I see no reason for us to not venture there to make a sale. Besides, they seem interested in visiting the various places in our world. Why not let them see the city of Italica?"

Lelei nodded, "I can go ask them," she said as she looked around, "I will need to find the one that addressed us when we first arrived. I believe that she is in charge."

Rory grinned at her, "I'll come with you," she said, her voice a dangerous purr, "She was interesting."

One thing that Lelei knew for certain was that it was not wise to attempt to dissuade the apostle of Emory from doing anything. As far as things went Rory Mercury was practically immortal. She didn't know the extent of that change, and she didn't begin to know if there was anything that could actually kill her or not. What she did know was that Rory was practically a force of nature, and like with any part of nature it was far more intelligent to simply prepare and accept then attempt to change.

"Very well," she said as she looked around, "I had seen her earlier entering the dining hall, but she likely has left since then. I shall ask one of the others to direct me to her."

Moving out the three of them didn't walk too far before they ran into one of the armored ones. He was currently facing away from them, speaking to some of the others in a gravely voice that sounded as if there was something wrong with his throat. Even with the way their voices sounded coming from inside of the armor his voice still sounded wrong.

"Excuse me," Lelei said in their language, "We are looking for the one in charge. We have a question to ask of her."

He turned toward her, and there was a moment of hesitation. Lelei wasn't sure what the hesitation was from, but he quickly recovered from it, "Sentinel Lyons is in the command tent, Come I'll lead you there."

"He said to follow him and he will take us to her."

They followed their guide, and as they did Lelei could see that the hesitation he had seemed to grow as they walked. She could hear a name occasionally from him as they walked. Someone named Rachel. She didn't know who that could be, but she assumed that one of them must have reminded him of this person. Could it have been someone important to him? She didn't know, but she was fine with whatever it was that was going on as long as it meant that they would be led to the one in charge.

The arrived at another building, one that they stepped into to see the woman that was in charge. She was dressed differently from before. Instead of the armored suit she wore a green suit of clothes that covered her well. A simple helmet hung by her side, and she was looking at a large map that was rolled out and held in place by four candle sticks.

"Sentinel Lyons, these three wanted to see you."

Lelei looked at the woman as she stood up. She walked toward them, "Need help?"

The words were simple, but Lelei understood that she was trying to communicate with them, "We wanted to ask you a question. We would like to visit a town, sell these," she said as she held up a wyvern scale, "Would you be able to take us?"

She saw the surprise on the woman's face, "Yes, I will have a few people escort you there."

She gave a brief bow and then looked at the others, "They said that they will take us."

Being able to sell the scales would help ensure that they had resources, and that would of course ensure that none of them would need to do anything like selling themselves. She watched as the blond woman called someone over, and she spoke to him for a few moments. He seemed to nod, and then he studied them. He walked near to them, and she could see that he was wearing a bodysuit that was blue with the strange symbols on it.

"We'll be leaving in a short time. I will help load those onto one of our transports," he said using their language, "I also will be having a few others going with us."

She nodded, "We will be ready when you are."

The three of them left and walked toward the building where the scales were at. When they got there they saw something else. It was a shell, but it was bigger than most of what they'd seen before. Lelei walked closer to it and noticed how it resembled the shell of a simple crab. She reached out to touch it, and she felt how smooth it was.

"It feels like glass," she said as she touched it, "It is perfectly smooth, but there is something about it that feels off."

Rory moved near her and looked at it, "The beast that it came from claimed many lives," she said as she touched it, "It was a hunter, it laid in wait and would attack when something came close. I'd love to see a living one."

"That might not be a good idea," a voice said from behind them. They turned to see the young woman that Lelei had learned their language from, "It's called Mirelurk, and they're territorial. Some people hunt them for meat, but get more than two or three together and you're looking at a killing field."

She moved forward, "And this was just one by itself. I've heard of some of them that are so big that they dwarf buildings. Never got to see one up close though."

Lelei looked at her, "and these are on the otherside?"

She nodded, "They're anywhere near water usually. We've considered seeing if we could trade or sell their shells here. They're able to stop some of our weapons, but not all of them. And they seem to be good against some fairly strong beasts," she said as she looked at the shell, "We thought that it could be possible that an enterprising armor maker might want to craft some armor from the shells."

Lelei nodded, "Yes, but it might not be a good idea."